Chairmen Pallone and Doyle Question FCC on Potential Effort to Game Judicial Lottery

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting information about what communications may have taken place between FCC and FCC licensees relating to legal challenges of the Commission’s Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure InvestmentDeclaratory Ruling and Third Report and Order. It has come to Pallone and Doyle’s attention that the FCC may have sought to stack the deck against local governments by directing carriers to challenge the Order in separate circuit court jurisdictions, with the goal of moving the case out of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Democrats requested that Chairman Pai provide answers to the following questions and provide the requested documents within three weeks of the FCC receiving normal operational funding:

• Did the FCC have communications with an FCC licensee relating to the legal challenges or potential legal challenges of the Order?
• If so, identify every person(s) and/or FCC employee(s) involved in the communication(s), describe in detail the communication(s), and provide all documents in your possession, custody, or control relating to such communication(s).
• Did any person at the FCC and/or FCC employee at the FCC urge an FCC licensee to challenge the Order?
• To the extent that an FCC licensee refused to challenge the Order, has any person at the FCC and/or FCC employee threatened or taken adverse action against such FCC licensee, including but not limited to delaying consideration of items or issue of interest to such person?