Somebody dropped a dime  on the FCC for tipping off certain companies and trade groups about upcoming votes. Is there no honor among media thieves?

In the magical land known as Washington, D.C., the dreaded (to some) General Accounting Office revealed that the hackery known as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been tipping off certain companies and trade groups to upcoming FCC votes, which afforded the favored inside information so they could get their lobbying efforts organized.

The FCC violating its own rules? Who would’ve thought?

What remains a mystery is who ratted out the FCC to Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and why? Knowing the players involved you have to believe that most of this iceberg is still underwater. The GAO report didn’t identify the companies or groups receiving the inside information from the FCC. The account is the result of Rep. Markey’s review of rulemaking procedures. Four case studies from 2002 to 2006 had the FCC breaching confidentiality of its pre-vote procedures and that several businesses and groups were tipped off to forthcoming votes by the Commission.

Let’s see who the captain of the gravy train was during this time frame? Actually, there were two. Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell and current Chairman Kevin Martin. Martin replaced Michael Powell, son of Colin, as FCC Chairman. Powell was given the bum’s rush – not for his endless bumbling and ineptness at the FCC – but after he was exposed for being wined, dined, and flown around the world in purported junkets courtesy of leading special interests groups and their lobbyists.

Martin was nominated and sworn to a GOP seat on the FCC by President George W. Bush in July, 2001. In 2005, Bush designated him Chairman of Commission and was sworn in on March, 2005. He was re-nominated for a second term by Bush in April, 2006. Kevin Martin, a true liegeman to his Commander in-Chief.

What’s on his resume? Despite his clueless appearance, he’s no Sugarfoot. Before joining the FCC, he was a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; served on the Bush-Cheney Transition Team, and was Deputy General Counsel for the Bush campaign.

Prior to his entry into the Bushdom, he learned the FCC tricks of the trade as an advisor to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, whose term ended in June, 2000. Furchgott-Roth. Gotta love the stories behind those hyphenated names, but I digress. Furchtgott-Roth was a leading hack….er… advocate for broadcast deregulation and reducing the regulatory authority of the FCC. He also opposed the FCC's right to conduct competitive analysis of mergers before approving license transfers. He believes in trusting your fellow man as long as you own him or he owns you. Martin also served in the Office of the Independent Counsel and was an associate at the Wiley, Rein & Fielding.

Stop here for a moment so we can review the tangled web of players in this firm. Richard E. Wiley’s a former Chairman of the FCC. As you read this he’s working on the pending XM-Sirius merger. He’s also been lead counsel in the AT&T-BellSouth and Comcast-Time Warner-Adelphia mergers, and has been counsel on the CBS mergers with Viacom and Westinghouse, just to name a few.

Bert Rein was a former director of U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was actively involved in Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign and was a member of President Ronald Reagan’s transition team. Freddie Fielding was a former council to Reagan from 1981 through 1986 but left the firm in February of this year to become a counselor to – you guessed right - George W. Bush. What a small world and it gets even smaller.

Wiley, Rein & Fiedling was the law firm that filed an appeal with the FCC in October, 2006 to halt an investigation of 77 TV stations that were found to have aired VNR’s – video news releases – without disclosure, calling it "an unprecedented regulatory intrusion into newsroom operations." VNRs are news segments created by ad agencies, PR firms, corporations, and even government agencies, which are provided at no cost to TV stations' news departments for the sole purpose of influencing public opinion or promoting commercial products and services.

VNRs, also known as “fake news,” provide fill for newscasts. Often, decisions are made to run VNRs on a local newscast originate at a corporate level and it’s rarely revealed to the viewer that the piece was produced by an influence peddler. When you hear about studies that determine things like the discovery of toxic chemical landfills being linked to preventing tooth decay or why increasing the troop numbers for Iraqi war is beneficial to our country – that’s a VNR. Some are subtle enough to fool even the harshest critics. You would be correct in saying that when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics did it on their media we called it propaganda.

The definition of the legal system in Washington: The more money you pony up, the more your rights get protected – and you get to pick your rights. It also shows that no matter who’s occupying the oval office, the GOP still preserves its control of certain government agencies and commissions. Let’s not forget that the 1996 Telecommunications Bill was signed into law by former President Bill Clinton. Democrat money rents; Republican money buys. There are so many more stories to tell and dots to connect, which, predictably, appear to originate from the Bush White House, but enough history for one day.

The problem isn't that this administration repeatedly shoots itself in the foot. The problem is that it has too many feet. You’re Kevin Martin and you’ve been caught aiding and abetting. The U.S. Criminal Code considers that a federal crime: (a) Whoever aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures the commission of an offense, is punishable as a principal and (b) Whoever willfully causes an act to be done, which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense, is punishable as a principal.

Seven years ago the FCC voted to penalize lobbyists who leaked confidential agency information after classified information on high-profile mergers were leaked to the public. An unidentified FCC staffer allegedly was fired the same year for leaking FCC documents, which reviewed the AOL-Time Warner merger.

Wonder how Kevin’ll get out this one? Who’ll fall on their sword? Who’s the cat and who’s the mouse? Here’s a rare case of a federal agency – or someone in it - committing a federal crime. Maybe one negates the other?

The real question is how this will play out in public. So far, it’s a non-story. Outside of a L.A. Times October 3, there’s been no media coverage of this scandal. And do the civilians really care? You’d believe that with the cost and efficiency – or lack thereof – of cable TV, high speed Internet (where many now have to pay a premium for a higher speed service), phone service, and the current state of radio and TV that its enough for the American public to rally and demand accountability and change from the rubber stampers at the FCC. Or will apathy reign as portrayed by Phil Ochs late sixties song, “And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody/Outside of a small circle of friends.”

Considering that Halliburton’s still in business, maybe this one will just go away, too. Stay tuned

(visit Gorman's media blog at   gormanmediablog.blogspot.com)