Thune Blasts Wheeler Leadership, Focuses on Leak of Nonpublic Information

“If they’re not forthcoming, we have some tools at our disposal,” Thune told reporters later. “But they are an independent agency, and he’s chosen the course of action and behavior that I think is very contrary to what’s in the best interest of having a good strong robust and healthy relationship not only among the members of the Commission but also with Capitol Hill, to whom they should be accountable. So we’ll see. But we wanted to let them know that we’re paying attention and that this lack of transparency’s got to stop. … We’ve tried repeatedly to get some answers from him, and this inspector’s general investigation will hopefully shed some light on what they did on this most recent discussion that we got pretty well publicized.”

Thune’s objections focus on whether Wheeler or his aides leaked nonpublic information on the Lifeline modernization efforts during the morning of the FCC’s March 31 meeting, the source of ongoing letters between Thune and Wheeler for months. That leak was believed to have possibly contributed to the end of a bipartisan FCC compromise on a Lifeline overhaul involving a budget cap. The agency ultimately cleared the overhaul advanced by Wheeler in a partisan vote. “My staff followed up with Mr. Wheeler’s staff several times on this matter, and they have emphatically stated that Chairman Wheeler refuses to answer this question” of “whether he personally authorized the leak” to Politico, Thune said in his remarks, posted by his committee. “Everyone who cares about government accountability should pause to think about this, Mr. President: even though Chairman Wheeler claims he has the clear legal authority to leak whatever nonpublic information he wants, whenever he wants, he nevertheless has refused to answer this simple question about whether he indeed authorized the leak on the morning of March 31st.”

An FCC spokeswoman referred us to Wheeler’s latest reply to Thune, dated May 2 (see 1605050048), and said it provides responses to the points Thune raised during his floor remarks, declining comment otherwise. Wheeler told Thune then he was ready to fully cooperate with the IG investigation and it’s “clear that information about the Commissioners’ deliberations was shared outside of the FCC.”

While Wheeler “refused to answer whether he authorized the disclosure, he sought to obfuscate and cast blame by stating that it was instead Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai who leaked nonpublic information in advance of the Open Meeting,” Thune said. “This shell game is unworthy of a chairman of an independent commission. Indeed, Mr. Wheeler’s attempt to cast blame on another commissioner only adds emphasis to the overall point I’m making here. Chairman Wheeler seeks to use the rule prohibiting the disclosure of nonpublic information as both a shield and a sword. On the one hand, he claims that the rule prohibiting the disclosure of nonpublic information does not apply to him; on the other hand, he seeks to shut down criticism and debate from another commissioner by stating that the commissioner may have violated the rule prohibiting disclosure of nonpublic information. The FCC’s nonpublic information rules were intended to facilitate and protect internal Commission deliberations. Chairman Wheeler instead is using them to stifle or manipulate the other commissioners.”

Thune called this instance “just one example out of many that demonstrate a disregard for the limits Congress has placed on the agency’s authority” and named several other objections he had to the Wheeler’s leadership during the speech. He called what he considered the high number of 3-2 party-line votes “a clear indication of an FCC chairman who embraces partisanship over compromise.” The FCC defended its vote record in December (see 1512150030) but Thune sees a problem: “In just the first year of his chairmanship, Mr. Wheeler forced through more items on party-line votes than the previous four chairs combined.” The agency has been “a de facto arm of the executive branch, wholly subservient to the president” and with problematic proceedings involving Communications Act Title II reclassification, E-rate and Lifeline overhaul, set-top box rules and broadband privacy rules, Thune said. He blamed Wheeler’s leadership, accusing him of ignoring a pledge to come to Congress about reinstating net neutrality rules before his latest order.

“Chairman Wheeler speaks often of his belief in the importance of competition and market forces,” Thune said. “Hearing that, one might think he would exercise his agency’s powers with humility and a light touch in order to promote the incredible innovation of which our communications sector is capable. Instead, Chairman Wheeler seems more focused on waging partisan battles and accumulating more power, while at the same time avoiding accountability to Congress and the American people.”