Issa says it doesn't appear Baker's departure violated any rules, but he still wants information. Issa questions Baker's departure

Rep. Darrell Issa questioned fellow Republican and FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker’s actions when deciding to leave the agency for a top job at Comcast in a letter to Chairman Julius Genachowski this week.

While he said it looks like appropriate FCC rules were followed, Issa still has some questions about Baker’s departure. Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wants to get a better sense of the rules that govern her departure and “the steps that the Commission took to ensure that they were followed.”


“Based on the public statements of both Commissioner Baker and the FCC, it does not appear that she violated any of her legal or ethical obligations in accepting a position with Comcast,” Issa wrote in the letter dated May 18. “Nevertheless, because only a short time has passed since the Comcast-NBC Universal merger, it is imperative that the public can trust the integrity of the process.”

Baker’s decision to leave the FCC to join the cable giant has raised eyebrows in Washington telecom circles, largely because she had recently voted to allow Comcast to take over NBC Universal.

For example, since Baker’s announcement earlier this month, Free Press and Credo Action have collected more than 130,000 letters seeking a congressional investigation into the possible conflict of interest.

“As Chairman Issa suggests, the American people deserve to know whether their public servants are truly serving them, or just auditioning for industry jobs,” Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron said in a statement Friday. “We hope Chairman Issa gives them the investigation they’ve demanded, and the one they deserve.”

Issa wants to know what regulations and FCC policies and procedures apply to Baker’s departure, as well as what actions Baker and the FCC took to ensure the rules were followed.

He also wants to know on what date Baker notified the FCC general counsel’s office that she was engaged in communications with Comcast about a possible job opportunity, as well as the date that Baker began to recuse herself from matters and/or proceedings before the FCC.

Issa asked the chairman’s office to make arrangements by May 24 to brief his committee’s staff on these issues.

Some public interest groups have also called for more information about the disclosure practices of commissioners and staff when seeking other employment.

In a letter sent to Genachowski on Thursday, Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn urged the commission to reinstitute a traditional disclosure practice in the hope of improving the transparency of the FCC with regard to career moves.

“As you are no doubt aware, there has been a great deal of public discussion surrounding the timing of the departure of Commissioner Meredith Baker,” Sohn’s letter stated.

“Although all available evidence suggests that she and her staff are adhering to current recusal procedures, those procedures have at least one easily corrected deficiency,” it continued. “No one in the public, and probably few at the Commission, knew that she had talked with Comcast about possible future employment until she announced her departure.”

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 6:06 p.m. on May 20, 2011.