Rep. Keith Ellison questions FCC Chairman Pai over former adviser's wire fraud indictment

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai asking for details on the nature of Elizabeth Ann Pierce’s appointment as chairwoman of an FCC advisory committee. Law enforcement officials are alleging that Pierce, the former CEO of an Alaska telecommunications firm called Quintillion, used forged customer contracts to try to attract investors. “[If] the allegations are true, it appears that Ms. Pierce may have been engaging in fraudulent behavior related to her own telecommunications company at the same time she was chosen by you to lead — and was leading — an important FCC committee,” Rep Ellison wrote. “This is deeply troubling, raising questions about the process by which members of the committee were chosen, its deliberations, and its recommendations to the FCC commissioners.” Rep Ellison included a list of questions about the nature of Pierce’s work for the commission. He also pressed Chairman Pai on whether he was aware of the impending allegations while she was advising the FCC. “I am concerned that Ms. Pierce’s involvement in the process of the BDAC irreparably taints any recommendations made by the Committee,” Rep Ellison wrote.