Comer launches probe into FTC Chair over allegations of abuse made by former commissioner

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee launched an investigation Thursday into the conduct of Lina Khan as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Commissioner Christine Wilson not too long ago resigned from the panel after considerations in regards to the integrity of the FTC underneath Ms. Khan’s management, citing abuses of energy and disrespect for the rule of regulation and federal ethics requirements.

In a letter to senior officers on the FTC, Sen. James Comer, Kentucky Republican and the panel chairman, requested paperwork and communications to overview these accusations and whether or not and the way Ms. Khan is likely to be implicated. 

“Commissioner Wilson declared her intent to resign over deep concerns that the Commission, under current Chair Lina M. Khan’s leadership, is abusing its power and disregarding the rule of law, due process, and federal ethics laws,” Mr. Comer added.

Mr. Comer requested paperwork and knowledge to make clear Commissioner Wilson’s allegations and mentioned the matter raised by Ms. Wilson raises considerations as as to if the FTC underneath her management has develop into “a rogue agency.”

The Kentucky Republican additionally famous that his committee needs to know if current resignations throughout Ms. Khan’s tenure “are due to White House influence.”

The Washington Times reached out to the FTC for remark however didn’t instantly hear again.

Ms. Wilson, a Republican and an appointee of former President Donald Trump, resigned from her publish in March after serving as a commissioner for practically 5 years.

She wrote in her resignation letter to President Biden that underneath Ms. Khan’s management, an appointee of Mr. Biden’s, that “knowledgeable career staff have been scorned and sidelined.”

She continued, “Most notably, early in her tenure, a gag order was imposed on staff that prevented them from engaging in consumer and business education — a vote of no confidence in our staff and a disservice to those we serve.”

Ms. Wilson described grievances of a number of hundred FTC staff taken from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.

The FTC “ranked in the top five mid-sized federal agencies between 2010 and 2017, and ranked either first or second between 2018 and 2020,” she wrote. “Since Chair Khan’s arrival, however, the agency’s rankings have plummeted.”

Ms. Wilson referenced “rampant dissatisfaction” amongst FTC employees that has led to the departures of many “experienced personnel,” inflicting a notable “brain drain” amongst seasoned staff.

She additionally claimed that enforcement numbers on the buyer safety aspect had declined.

“In 2020, under Chairman [Joseph] Simons, the FTC brought 79 consumer protection actions. But in 2021, that number declined by more than half, to 32. And in 2022, this number increased to 46 — again, still well short of Chairman Simons’ 79 actions in 2020,” she mentioned.

In a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, Ms. Wilson wrote that FTC management “abused the merger review process to impose a tax on all mergers, not only those that hinder competition” and that progressives tried however did not enact a legislative moratorium on mergers in early 2020 and to cross different restrictions since then.

“Ms. Khan now does so by fiat. Abuse of regulatory authority now substitutes for unfulfilled legislative desires,” she wrote.

Former Commissioner Noah Phillips, additionally an appointee of Mr. Trump, resigned from the FTC final October.

In April 2022, Mr. Phillips mentioned the Biden administration is “as hostile to mergers and acquisitions as any in my lifetime” throughout his remarks in San Francisco on the Berkeley Spring Forum.