FCC Nominee Signs Recusal Intention

Gigi Sohn

FCC nominee Gigi Sohn has pledged to recuse herself temporarily from two broadcast regulatory issues if confirmed by the Senate to an agency seat, reports Bloomberg Law.

Sohn agreed to recuse herself from matters involving retransmission consent or television broadcast copyright for the first three years of her term, in a letter to P. Michele Ellison, the FCC’s acting general counsel.

Sohn also said she would recuse herself for four years from a docket concerning the rules governing retransmission consent or any related FCC dockets, according to the letter obtained by Bloomberg Law.

As president of Public Knowledge, Sohn in 2010 signed a petition for rulemaking urging the FCC to amend and supplement the rules governing retransmission consent that became the basis for that docket.

Though her ethics agreement does not require Sohn to recuse, she wrote, she would “to avoid any appearance of impropriety and in interest of ensuring that the public has full confidence that policymakers will make decisions free of bias.”

The National Association of Broadcasters has pushed for Sohn to recuse from certain broadcast issues, citing concerns about her tenure as a board member of Locast, a nonprofit that was ordered to shut down after illegally streaming programming.

“Ms. Sohn’s recusal agreement resolves the concerns NAB raised regarding her nomination,” NAB said in a statement.

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is scheduled to vote on Sohn’s nomination Feb. 2.