Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are pressing the Republican members of the Federal Communications Commission for information about their appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr, participated in a panel discussion at CPAC last month. But Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said their attendance at the event “led to a number of ethically questionable situations.”
“Your willingness to attend and help promote a political rally raises serious concerns about your roles as leaders of an independent federal agency, and the potential of taxpayer dollars being spent towards political ends,” Pallone and Doyle wrote in a letter to the commissioners Monday.
The two Democrats pointed to an award the National Rifle Association presented to Pai at the start of the event, as well as a comment O’Rielly made about President Trump’s re-election, as two problematic situations that arose from their participation in the CPAC panel.
Pai was surprised with the NRA’s “Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award,” which included a handmade firearm, for his efforts to repeal net neutrality rules despite receiving death threats and backlash from the public.
The FCC chairman ultimately turned down the award from the NRA, citing the advice of FCC ethics officials.
O’Rielly, meanwhile, called for Trump’s re-election during the confab, which prompted American Oversight to call for an investigation into whether the commissioner’s statements violated the Hatch Act.
“Despite the congressional intent set out in the commission’s authorizing statute, commissioners seem to be using their positions during this administration as a platform to promote and even raise funds towards a political agenda,” Pallone and Doyle said. “Indeed, some statements by commissioners made during recent events have created deep partisan divide at the FCC.”
The two Democrats are asking the Republican FCC commissioners to detail whether they sought advice from the FCC’s general counsel about their attendance at CPAC and whether any federal dollars or resources were used in relation to their appearances.
Pallone and Doyle said they are seeking the information “to ensure taxpayer dollars are not being spent for inappropriate political purposes.”
