via WSJ:
Federal ethics rules require executive-branch employees to recuse themselves when circumstance would cause a “reasonable person with knowledge of the facts to question his impartiality.” FTC ethics official Lorielle Pankey wrote in a 14-page memo dated Aug. 31, 2022 that Ms. Khan’s past statements about Meta were such a circumstance.
“In my view, such statements would raise a question in the mind of a reasonable person about Chair Khan’s impartiality as an adjudicator in the Commission’s Meta/Within merger review,” Ms. Pankey wrote. “Accordingly, I recommend Chair Khan recuse to avoid an appearance of partiality concern,” adding that she did “not reach this conclusion lightly.”
Ms. Khan ignored the ethics official’s advice, and her two fellow Democratic commissioners approved of her participation in the case anyway. Republican commissioner Christine Wilson objected, and her dissent echoed arguments from the agency ethics official.
Yet the public couldn’t learn the full scope of Ms. Wilson’s concerns because the two Democratic commissioners imposed heavy redactions on her dissent, as she noted in a Journal op-ed explaining her resignation from the FTC. “The redactions served no purpose but to protect Ms. Khan from embarrassment,” she wrote. Now we know what they were covering up.
Ms. Pankey also noted in her recusal memo that “to the best of my knowledge, no FTC employee has participated in a specific party matter when the agency designee has recommended recusal on appearance or other federal ethics grounds.” Ms. Khan’s doing so was unprecedented.
Asked during a House hearing this spring if there were “any instances where you have not followed DEAO’s advice,” Ms. Khan replied “no” and that she had “taken actions that are consistent with the legal statements that the DEAO has made.” That’s clearly false.
That’s bad. If she were a Republican, she might be at risk for prosecution.
h/t Glenn