Wheeler To Congress: "No Secret Instructions"

Tom Wheeler

The head of the Federal Communications Commission told Congress Tuesday that President Obama didn't give him "secret instructions" on net neutrality, according to The Washington Post.

Appearing before a House panel Tuesday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler deployed boardroom language in pushing back against allegations of undue executive influence.

"There were no secret instructions from the White House. I did not, as CEO of an independent agency, feel obligated to follow the president’s recommendation," Wheeler said.

House Republicans accused the FCC of bowing to WH pressure on its net neutrality decision, which has angered the nation's cable and wireless giants. They said the agency's I-G has opened an investigation into whether the FCC had violated any rules.

Samples of 1,600 pages of emails and other docs released by the House Oversight Committee - while falling short of any blatant impropriety - raise questions about whether senior Obama aides went to unusual lengths to engage independent regulators on a popular issue

An openly defiant FCC chair Tom Wheeler told the committee that keeping the WH up to date on FCC dealings isn't unusual and that he won't apologize for what he considers a transparent deliberations process. "There were no secret instructions from the WH. I did not, as CEO of an independent agency, feel obligated to follow the president's recommendation."

Much of the focus was on behind-the-scenes talks last year among lobbyists, agency staffers and WH aides as Wheeler struggled with how exactly to regulate internet service. A court had knocked down the FCC's previous legal approach, which had prohibited cable and wireless companies from blocking or slowing internet traffic.

Wheeler had been seen to be leaning toward a lighter set of rules, but "all that seemed to change on Nov 10," said Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH), when President Obama released a highly publicized video calling for stronger regs. Rep Peter Welch (D-VT) accused GOP pols of turning the hearing into "a Watergate type of deal - what did you know and when did you know it?"

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and other Republicans have slammed the FCC over a lack of transparency when it comes to the agency's net neutrality rules, which seek to bar Internet providers from unfairly speeding up, slowing down or blocking Web traffic.

"The lack of transparency surrounding the open Internet rule-making process raises a lot of questions," said Chaffetz.

Other Republicans alleged that repeated meetings last fall between Wheeler and White House economic adviser Jeff Zients resulted in pressure that ultimately pushed the FCC to adopt much stronger regulations than it had previously considered.