WASHINGTON - This morning FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his fellow Commissioners appeared before the Senate Oversight Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on the heels of revelations that the FCC lied to Congress about a supposed “cyber attack,” which was alleged to have happened just as millions of John Oliver viewers were attempting to file pro-net neutrality comments with agency. A recently released internal FCC report sheds light on internal agency system failures that caused the website to crash, not a cyberattack.

The following statement can be attributed to Sarah Roth-Gaudette, Fight for the Future’s Executive Director:

“Under fire from his Senate colleagues, it’s hard to say what Pai did faster: talk, or throw his staff under the bus. Today removed any doubt that Ajit Pai will be remembered as one of the worst FCC Chairs in U.S. history, and he should resign immediately. When pressed on exactly how long he knew the FCC’s alleged cyber attack was fake, Pai shrugged and said his hands were tied. Sorry Chairman Pai, but refusing to take responsibility doesn’t cut it for us or the American people you serve.” “ Chairman Pai’s bogus claim that the sky has not fallen since net neutrality was repealed is at best naive and at worst intentionally misleading. With a vote to overturn the repeal passed in the Senate and pending in the House, and 23 Attorneys General suing the FCC over it, Internet service providers like Comcast and AT&T aren’t going to restructure the entire Internet while the heat is on.” “Today Pai admitted he knew that the alleged cyber attack was bogus months ago. No matter which side of the aisle you’re on, you should be completely outraged. We provided the FCC with proof that the DDoS attack was totally made up months ago, yet the agency still lied to Congress and failed to escalate the issue to the proper authorities. If this isn’t clear evidence of an agency sabotaging its own process to reach a predetermined outcome, then I don’t know what is. What is clear is this: the FCC’s net neutrality repeal is not only undemocratic, it’s illegitimate. And Congress must reverse it by passing the CRA as soon as possible.”

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