Open government

Chairman Pai on Inspector General Report Concluding No Favoritism Toward Sinclair

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement regarding the Office of Inspector General’s independent report, which found no evidence or suggestion of impropriety, unscrupulous behavior, or favoritism towards Sinclair. Moreover, the Office of the Inspector General found no lack of impartiality related to the proposed Sinclair-Tribune Merger:

FCC Transparency Act Reintroduced

Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has reintroduced the Federal Communications Commission Transparency Act (HR 6422), which would mandate that the FCC publish the drafts of items to be considered in a public meeting 21 days ahead of that vote.

Judicial Transparency Group 'Fix the Court' Presses for Kavanaugh Documents

Judicial transparency group Fix the Court continues to try to get info on Brett Kavanaugh's time at the White House and working on the Starr Report. Kavanaugh, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, was nominated this week to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kennedy is exiting at the end of July.

The FCC wants to charge you $225 to review your complaints

On July 12, the Federal Communications Commission will be voting to ensure they won’t have to read your complaints anymore — and Democratic House Commerce Committee leaders are not happy about it. House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to voice their disapproval of a proposed rule that, if approved, would send informal consumer complaints directly through to the company in question.

The Tech Side of Trump’s Plan to Reorganize Government

Under a new reorganization plan from the Trump administration, federal agencies would have less than four years to digitize all their paper processes. The White House released its overarching plan to reorganize the federal government, and, as with most of the administration’s management plans, it emphasizes technology’s role in the future of government. The plan calls for digitizing all of the federal government’s recordkeeping by Dec. 31, 2022, at which time the National Archives and Records Administration would stop accepting paper records from agencies.

The FCC Wants $200 to Release Emails About Ajit Pai's Giant Reese's Mug

The Federal Communication Commission wants more than $200 to release e-mails related to Chairman Ajit Pai’s novelty, oversized coffee mug under the Freedom of Information Act.  The mug gained mild notoriety after Chairman Pai was photographed with the drinking vessel. But when Taylor Amarel, a frequent FOIA-filer who secured the release of Chairman Pai’s calendar earlier in 2018, requested all of Chairman Pai’s executive assistant’s e-mails that included terms such as "reeses", "mug", or "Reese's,” the FCC pushed back.

No, Twitter still isn’t subject to the First Amendment — even if a judge said Trump’s account is

[Analysis] The ruling that President Trump violated the constitutional rights of Americans when he blocked some of his Twitter followers after they criticized him politically raises many more questions about the extent of those First Amendment obligations. President Trump cannot legally block his Twitter followers for political reasons, the judge ruled, because that would amount to “viewpoint discrimination” by a government official in a public forum. 

DC Appeals Court to Stream Oral Arguments

In a victory for court access advocates, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will start live -streaming oral arguments beginning with the 2018-2019 term. That is according to Chief Judge Merrick Garland, who said May 23 that the court had voted to live -stream all arguments, except those dealing with classified or sealed matters. The D.C. circuit has primary jurisdiction over government agency decision challenges, including the FCC's.

The truth is about to catch up to President Trump. He has Giuliani to thank for it.

May 15 is the deadline for President Trump to file his financial disclosure form for 2017. 

Bringing the Public Back In: Can the Comment Process Be Fixed?

[Speech] Something here is not right—and what is wrong is not confined to the Federal Communications Commission. Because fake comments and stolen identities are pouring into proceedings across Washington. They’ve been uncovered at the Department of Labor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The civic infrastructure we have for accepting public comment in the rulemaking process is not built for the digital age.