FCC's McDowell: FCC Should Look Into Wrongdoing by Any Company

Federal Communications Commissioner member Robert McDowell was interviewed on C-SPAN's The Communicators.

Commissioner McDowell said if there is any wiretapping going on "anywhere, for any reason, by anybody," that is illegal and law enforcement agencies would be the best ones to be charged with looking into it. The FBI is reportedly doing just that. He also said that Congress could to its own investigation. As to any FCC role, McDowell said that if there were a violation of one of its rules, "we should look at it," But he was quick to add that "right now, we don't have any evidence of any wrongdoing by anybody, regarding recent headlines, that I know of." But, he said, should evidence be presented and it is within the FCC's jurisdiction, "certainly we should examine it." But Commissioner McDowell stopped short of saying he agreed with the legislators that there should be an investigation. "I subscribe to the notion that Congress tells me what to do. I don't tell Congress what to do. So if there are members of Congress who want an investigation they are free to conduct their own. And the commission should abide by its own processes and if there is evidence of wrongdoing by any company, for anything, then we should look at it in due course."