FCC chairman declines NRA gun award

Federal Communications Commission  Chairman Ajit Pai turned down an National Rifle Association of America (NRA) gun award he received at the Conservative Political Action Conference, citing the advice of ethics officials at his agency. An executive from the NRA named Chairman Pai the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award recipient at CPAC for his efforts to repeal the Obama-era net neutrality rules. The award was a Kentucky handmade long gun, which the NRA said would be housed at the organization’s museum until he could retrieve it. But Chairman Pai, in letters sent to the NRA and to the American Conservative Union, which puts on the conference, noted he was "surprised" by the award and turned down the gun. “As you know, once my staff became aware of what was happening, they asked backstage that the musket not be presented to me to ensure that this could be first discussed with and vetted by career ethics attorneys in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel,” Chairman Pai wrote, according to an FCC source who relayed the text of the letters. “Therefore, upon their counsel, I must respectfully decline the award,” he wrote. “I have also been advised by the FCC’s career ethics attorneys that I would not be able to accept the award upon my departure from government service.”  Government ethics rules would generally prevent FCC officials from accepting awards worth more than $200 without written clearance from their agency’s ethics officials, said Larry Noble, senior director and general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization that studies ethics rules. Noble noted he had "serious questions" about Pai receiving the award when he learned of it.