Reading Room Document

Ex Parte Communications During FCC Rulemaking

Ex parte communications by White House officials to Federal Communications Commission commissioners that advocate positions on the FCC rulemaking proceeding to evaluate financial interest and syndication rules would be permissible. According to FCC regulations, as interpreted by the FCC General Counsel, communications by the White House must be disclosed in the FCC rulemaking record if they are of substantial significance and clearly intended to affect the ultimate decision. Although solicitation of the views of White House officials by FCC commissioners would be permissible and need not be included in the rulemaking record, any response by White House officials to such a solicitation would be subject to the same disclosure requirements that apply to unsolicited communications. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23271/download.

January 14, 1991