Dems Dissatisfied With FCC Recusal Response

DEMS DISSATISFIED WITH FCC RECUSAL RESPONSE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
FCC General Counsel Sam Feder has provided top House Democrats with supporting information for his decision to allow Commissioner Robert McDowell to vote in the Bell South/AT&T merger, but the answers didn't sit well with them. Incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) said the FCC "has not provided a thoughtful and appropriate explanation for departing from the advice of the Director of the Office of Government Ethics." The ethics director told Feder that he would not "un-recuse" Commissioner McDowell. Rep Dingell's dissatisfaction with the response was echoed by Rep Ed Markey (D-MA) who said, "Nothing in the General Counsel's response surmounts the ethical hurdle placed before the Commission by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics Robert I. Cusick who indicated to the FCC that if the decision were up to him, he would not authorize Commissioner McDowell's participation in the AT&T-BellSouth merger proceeding. Instead, the FCC General Counsel's response highlights that there is no direct or persuasive precedent for 'un-recusing' Commissioner McDowell." Feder said there were several precedents for un-recusing commissioners, including one involving FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and one involving former Chairman Michael Powell. He also said that the FCC had demonstrated it was at an impasse on the merger vote, with the item pulled from the agenda three times because it was deadlocked 2-2. He also pointed out that clearing McDowell to vote did not mean compelling the vote.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6399296.html?display=Breaking...

* Dingell, Markey Blast FCC Lawyer
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6399384.html?display=Breaking+News

* Key Democrats Push To Keep FCC's McDowell Recused On Merger
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-AGZZ1165960613023.htm...

* FCC's Martin Takes Heat Over AT&T-BellSouth Action
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11208
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* McDowell Can't Make Ownership Hearing
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell did not attend the hearing in Nashville. He stayed in Washington to consider his participation in the FCC's vote on the AT&T/BellSouth merger.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6398804?display=Breaking+News

* McDowell Mulls AT&T-BellSouth Options
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6398924.html?display=Breaking+News