The FCC ’s chronic refusal to answer a few simple questions about an alleged security incident that supposedly bust up its scuttlebutt system has make its net form . Despite being press for a straightforward response by a half - dozen lawmakers over the retiring twelvemonth , the agency ’s Republican chairwoman , like a malingering chicken , always regain a elbow room to dodge the enquiry and shirk answerability . The belated instance only happens to be the most laughable so far .
At this week ’s FCC oversight hearing , Pai was questioned by Rep. Debbie Dingell , Democrat of Michigan , over the bureau ’s failure to respond to repeated inquiries dating back to July 2017 . Dingell and a workfellow , Rep. Jerry McNerney of California , are among those who have been pressing Pai to explain and elaborate further on his claim that the FCC was struck by multiple denial - of - service attacks on May 7 , 2017 , just as — coincidently , the federal agency would have us conceive — comedian John Oliver was head millions of viewer of his HBO show Last Week Tonight to rush the government agency ’s web site .
Although under the Obama - appointed chairman , Tom Wheeler , the FCC never officially declare that a cyberattack occurred in 2014 — because it did n’t , as Wheelerreaffirmedthis June — Pai ’s FCCdreamt up its own version of eventslast year . short the simulated attack was canon ; it was share with the Wall Street Journal , which happily reported it ; and a new ground was concocted to explain away why the groundless 2014 “ approach ” had never been report via prescribed channels before : Wheeler had wanted it kept secret .
https://gizmodo.com/least-transparent-fcc-ever-goes-dark-as-former-it-chief-1826631088
Mainly , the bastard call that the agency had been attacked three age ago was used to bolster the much newer claim that it had been assault “ again ” last year . As Gizmodo report out the trail of inconsistencies and dubitable leaks , the interests of both House and Senate lawmakers was piqued . And while result were demand , every endeavor to get at the truth has beenstymied by Pai and the officials under him .
The way has effectively bring a medium brownout over the controversy by refusing to respond to questions about it from reporter at multiple outlets . Repeated enquiry from Gizmodo , dating back to June 1 , have receive no response . The FCC did not respond to request for remark for this story either
The FCC ’s claims are currently under investigating by its own examiner superior general , as well as the General Accountability Office , Congress ’ watchdog .
Dingell was able to press Pai in person this workweek , however , during a telecast oversight hearing . But in reply to having a long list of times Dingell and others had request information from him record aloud , Pai slump to answer any questions , saying he is de jure forbid from talk over the thing , at least until he receive a formal alphabetic character from the Oversight Committee itself .
“ Would you agree , Chairman Pai , that there ’s something wrong when members of committee tax with supervising of the FCC learn about issues from the press when we ’ve been ask about them for more than a year ? ” Dingell call for .
“ In consultation with the Office of General Counsel , ” Pai replied , “ travel along that particular hearing you reference , the general counselling opined that we expect a letter from the committee in rescript to share certain selective information because of some of the sensitivity of that entropy . ”
The full commutation is in the television below :
The Republicans in controller of the citizens committee Pai referred to have not , so far , shared Dingell ’s interest in digging further into the FCC ’s cyberattack claim . These are the same Republicans who , when the 115th Congress kicked off , committed to view as an FCC oversight hearing every one-quarter . So far , they ’ve gotten around to three .
“ We are disappointed and foil by Chairman Pai ’s lack of transparency in giving the Committee the info we take , ” Dingell told Gizmodo Friday . “ What pass with the conjecture DDoS attack is very troubling and a threat to our democracy and national security measures . We have been trying to get this info for over a twelvemonth . Congress has a responsibility to plow these publication and oversight and we are n’t getting answers . ”
Pai head what has become one of the least vapourous authority under the Trump administration . It fiercely combats the revealing of records under the Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) , meticulously applying exemptions to internal document and redacting them under the broadest and most excessive interpretation of the law possible .
In a recent mountain of over 1,000 Page of records released under FOIA , nearly every internal e-mail was blacked out quote thedeliberative process prerogative , a supply cut up out exclusively to allow agency to withhold records that , if made public , would hamper its ability to host frank discussions on insurance policy matters in the future tense . Last winter , the FCC used this same privilege towithhold track record related to jokesthat Pai had told at apublic event in December .
In May , a dozen Democrats charged with FCC oversight accused Pai ofducking their questions , further admonishing him over what they pointedly name as a “ lack of frankness . ” The lawgiver write that Pai had either ignored or inadequately responded to more than two dozen letter containing all-important superintendence questions , the earlier of which was dated back to March 2017 .
In June , Congressmen Frank Pallone , Jr. and Mike Doyle wrote inanother letter : “ Unfortunately , over the retiring few months , the [ FCC ] has become less transparent with the legislative offshoot , altogether torment any attempt at our Constitutional responsibility to oversee the way on behalf of the American people . ”
“ Chairman Pai believe he is a very important humankind , so I understand why he thinks he vex to choose which fellow member of Congress he will answer to , ” Sen. Ron Wyden , who has also sent Pai several unanswered alphabetic character in respect to the allege 2014 and 2017 cyberattacks , order Gizmodo in an email . “ But if he spent less time attempt to makeviral telecasting and memes , he might know that Congressional oversight is written into the Constitution , to ensure the federal government is accountable to the populace . ”
“ Chairman Pai necessitate to tell the American people whether there was really a cyberattack on the FCC , ” Wyden added , “ or if that was an excuse for the agency ’s own technical shortcoming . ”
Update , 2024-12-02 : The FCC Office of the Inspector General ( OIG ) concluded through investigation that there was no cyberattack against the FCC ’s input arrangement in May 2017 .
“ The May 7 - 8 , 2016 degradation of the FCC ’s extracellular fluid was not , as reported to the public and to Congress , the effect of a DDoS flak , ” theOIG report states . “ At best , the published reports were the result of a rushing to sound judgement and the failure to impart analysis want to key out the true cause of the disruption to system availableness . ”
Ajit Pai
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