The Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday, alleging a lack of transparency and accountability.
The business group said the FTC, under liberal Chairwoman Lina Khan, has regularly avoided responding to lawful requests for public information. The Chamber claimed that the consistent evasion of requests for transparency has created a “black-box environment” that makes scrutinizing the company’s practices difficult.
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“The FTC is pursuing an aggressive agenda with far-reaching implications for American businesses and the economy. It is bypassing longstanding norms to expansively regulate industries and manage our economy with a government-knows-best approach,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark in a press statement. “We have witnessed the agency take a series of steps that collectively circumvent due process, concentrate power into the hands of the Chair, and utilize dubious legal means to achieve pre-ordained ends.”
While the Chamber recently succeeded in its legal appeal to acquire the FTC’s operation manual, the Commission has failed to answer queries about its internal conduct. This includes information regarding the Commission’s practice of counting “zombie votes,” or votes provided by former commissioners. The Chamber also asked for details about the FTC’s communications with the European Commission concerning the merger of the biotech companies Illumina and Grail.
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The Commission also requested additional information about Khan’s role as a “legal fellow” under former Commissioner Rohit Chopra.
“The consolidation of power into agency heads, circumvention of civil service laws, and an utter lack of transparency is, unfortunately, a pattern we are beginning to see at multiple federal agencies that are supposed to exercise expert, independent judgment. The Chamber is never hesitant to defend the rule of law and the rights of American businesses,” Clark added.
Khan, a leader of the “hipster antitrust” movement, has aimed for much greater scrutiny of big businesses and anti-competitive behavior.
The FTC did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
