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Theodore A. Gebhard*

Nearly one month ago, the publication, Politico, reported that the Federal Trade Commission held on to “as many as 20 votes that former Democratic Commissioner Rohit Chopra cast by email on Oct. 8—his last day at the agency—that remain active even after his departure.” The link below is to a letter written by several former FTC Officials and Antitrust Scholars to members of the House and Senate who oversee the FTC and to the Inspector General of the FTC. The former Officials and Scholars express concern that using the votes of Commissioners who have departed from their roles at the FTC and concealing it from the public raises serious problematic issues about transparency and accountability. The Officials seek an investigation to determine the following: 1.) the legal basis for this practice, beyond compliance with internal voting rules; 2.) whether the practice has previously been used, when it was used, and, specifically, if it has been used to break ties; and 3.) information relating to each of the underlying proposals, votes, and relevant motions as well as the FTC’s rationale for concealing these specific matters from public disclosure. I am a signatory on the letter. I encourage readers of this post to read the letter in its entirety. TAG

FTC Alumni Comments on Zombie Votes

* Theodore A. Gebhard is an attorney and economist.  See his mini-bio on the Contributors page.