
Comcast executives appear to share cozy relationships with regulators - morisy
https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2014/jul/01/comcast-executives-share-cozy-relationships-regula/
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Alex_MJ
As much as I hate Comcast and occasionally say prayers that a cement truck
accidentally crashes into Tom Wheeler's house, and I'd love to see a massive
scandal here - these emails don't seem incriminating at all.

A high level official got invited to a party, and declined because "the rules
folks over here tell me I can't". They know each other (makes sense, they're
both working at a high level in the same industry) and they have people
watching their backs to make sure they don't do anything that can legally be
considered corrupt (again, makes sense, shit's a minefield and an ill-defined
one at that. If I were in that position I would have people keeping an eye on
that whether I was corrupt or pious as a lamb)

Am I missing something? I clicked on that link salivating for the political
blood of Comcast executives and all I got was a polite grownup email version
of "sry bro can't come, rules n shyt, sounds bumpin tho"

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revelation
You're missing that this person is trying to satisfy the _letter of the law_ ,
instead of the _intent_.

Basically, if your reaction to such an invitation is to ask legal "how can I
go to this rad absolutely not work related party without giving the impression
of impropriety?" instead of telling the other person "this is unacceptable and
you know it".. you're not out for the publics best interest.

~~~
squidfood
I work in a regulatory environment (much lower level) and have turned down
stuff (cheap stuff, like a reception where I might get comped a drink).

Out of sheer politeness, I sometimes respond with a "those stuffed shirts say
I can't". It's a handy non-confrontational excuse that can't really be argued
against, and doesn't make you sound like a prig.

~~~
revelation
Did you then continue to casually extend a dinner invitation? I get it, people
don't want to seem like cold assholes. But I think we should be very wary of a
regulatory environment where high-level executives give heartfelt apologies
intermixed with personal stories and backup plans instead of clearly rejecting
such obviously inappropiate offers.

~~~
alexqgb
If you're a decent regulator, it's _your job_ to be a cold. That's basically
the whole point. You don't need to be an asshole, but you should damn well
insist on deference and distance.

By way of analogy, can you imagine a judge dispensing with formalities and
telling the people facing him in court "Relax! Call me Jim." Obviously not.
Because when it comes to the law, conspicuously arms-lengths relationships are
essential.

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adventured
The CEO of Comcast plays golf with the President. How much cozier can you get
exactly?

[http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/08/obama-golfs-
with...](http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/08/obama-golfs-with-comcast-
ceo-170524.html)

~~~
alexqgb
Believe it or not, regulators actually maintain some independence from the
Executive. Were that not that case, this would be more of a scandal, as
opposed to the standard sleaze that has become (ahem) par for the course in
DC.

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jxf
A certain level of corruption is perhaps expected in any large bureaucracy.
People are, after all, only human.

What really galls me, however, is the circumstances. This isn't some low-level
flunky taking a bribe under the table to move things along. This is a ranking
official tasked specifically with overseeing the Comcast merger work, who
should have known that they'd be subjected to extra scrutiny.

Also, interestingly, the FOIA response appears not to have redacted the e-mail
addresses of a number of very high-ranking public officials in the FTC and
FCC.

~~~
lifeisstillgood
I have to agree with Alex here - I see no evidence of wrong doing and no
evidence of making sure there is no evidence.

I mean she asked, she said no. Regulators are there primarily to prevent
abuse, not to replace either vicious competition or political oversight. So
it's going to be cozy.

~~~
jxf
I agree that there's no actual wrongdoing present, looking only at the content
of the e-mails.

However, the tone of the e-mail suggests that this is one event in a pattern,
and that the size and unusual nature of the particular gift (how many times
are you going to get to go to the Olympics?) is what prompted a discussion
with "the rules folks".

Wouldn't you expect a good regulator with a "cozy" relationship to already
know what's in and out of bounds? That seems like it would be part of their
job, without needing to consult the rules people.

But perhaps I'm being too uncharitable, and both sides should get the benefit
of the doubt. I'm willing to concede I might be reading in between the lines
too much.

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zw123456
Regulators and industry have always had somewhat of an incestuous
relationship. Often the experts in fields like telecom have to come from
industry and often times they have an eye on their future career. The FCC,
FAA, FDA, Defense, all are plagued with this problem. Unless we are willing to
pay comparable to industry, the regulators will be a revolving door.

~~~
tzs
> Regulators and industry have always had somewhat of an incestuous
> relationship. Often the experts in fields like telecom have to come from
> industry and often times they have an eye on their future career.

It's kind of hard to see how it could work any other way. Suppose, for
example, we want someone to head the FAA. It seems obvious you want someone
with a vast knowledge of the aviation industry.

Are there really many people who have that vast knowledge and are NOT working
in the aviation industry? We're basically supposed to look for someone whose
career has nothing to do with aviation, but has somehow, perhaps as a hobby,
become one of the country's top aviation industry experts?

~~~
zw123456
Yes, it is kind of a conundrum in a way, in a lot of ways you really need the
real world experience of the industry people but that implies a little bit of
a conflict of interest. I guess if there was a way to have someone have a
career as a regulator, but again, perhaps that limits their experience and
knowledge....

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yuhong
I wonder what would the meeting be like if there was no anti-corruption rules
and this was allowed.

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wickedlogic
Cozy? Hardly, do you know how much that relationship cost comcast?

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JetSpiegel
"appear"?

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mcsmash
And in other breaking news, the sky is blue, things fall down, and water is
wet. Please stay tuned for further developments as these exciting stories
continue to unfold.

~~~
Zikes
Yes, solid evidence of inferred corruption is such old and boring news, hardly
worthy of our time and attention.

