December 2, 2021 

Andrew Katsaros 
Inspector General, Federal Trade Commisssion 

The Honorable Maria Cantwell
Chair, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation 

The Honorable Roger Wicker
Ranking Member, Senate Commitee on Commerce, Science and Transportation 

The Honorable Gary C. Peters 
Chair, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

The Honorable Rob Portman 
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney 
Chair, House Committee on Oversight and Reform 

The Honorable Frank Pallone 
Chair, House Committee on Energy and Commerce 

The Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers 
Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce 

The Honorable James Comer 
Ranking Member, House Committee on Oversight and Reform 

RE: Request for investigation of the Federal Trade Commission's practice of counting "zombie votes" 

Dear Inspector General Katsaros; Senators Cantwell, Peters, Wicker and Portman; and Representatives Pallone, Rodgers, Maloney, and Comer,

We, the undersigned, write to you regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s use of votes cast by departed-Commissioner Rohit Chopra by e-mail from October 1, 2021 to October 8, 2021. We request an investigation into both this practice and the Commission’s lack of transparency.

Nearly one month ago, Politico reported that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held on to “as many as 20 votes that former Democratic Commissioner Rohit Chopra cast by email on Oct. 8—his last day at the agency—that remain active even after his departure.” The FTC claims that formerCommissioner Chopra’s votes continued to be valid two months after Chopra’s departure from the FTC following his Sept. 30, 2021 confirmation by the U.S. Senate to become Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). 

To date, the entirety of the votes, the underlying proposals, and the legal basis from which the FTC apparently derives this authority—beyond compliance with the FTC’s previously unknown internal voting rules—remain unclear and undisclosed to the public.

Using the votes of Commissioners who have departed from their roles at the FTC and concealing it from the public raises serious concerns regarding transparency and accountability. We therefore seek an investigation to determine the following: 1.) the legal basis for this practice, beyond compliance with internal voting rules; 2.) whether the practice has previously been used, when it was used, and, specifically, if it has been used to break ties; and 3.) information relating to each of the underlying proposals, votes, and relevant motions as well as the FTC's rationale for concealing these specific matters from public disclosure. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. 

Sincerely,

Ashley Baker
Director of Public Policy, The Committee for Justice 

Maureen Blum
President, Strategic Coalitions & Initiatives

Brandon Arnold 
Executive Vice President, National Taxpayers Union 

James Edwards 
Executive Director, Conservatives for Property Rights 

Saulius "Saul" Anuzis 
President, 60 Plus Association 

Theordore A. Gebhard 
Former Senior FTC Attorney, Office of Policy & Evaluation 

Robert H. Bork, Jr. 
President, The Bork Foundation 

Tom Hebert 
Executive Director, Open Competition Center 

Ralph Benko 
Chairman, The Capitalist League 

Curt Levey 
President, The Committee for Justice 

Garrett Bess 
Vice President, Heritage Action 

James L. Martin 
Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association 

Adam Brandon 
President, FreedomWorks 

Katie McAuliffe 
Executive Director, Digital Liberty 

Iain Murray 
Vice President and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Yael Ossowski 
Deputy Director, Consumer Choice Center 

Richard Manning 
President, Americans for Limited Government 

Krisztina Pusok 
Director, American Consumer Institute 

Dough McCullough 
Director, Lone Star Policy Institute 

Timothy Sandefur 
Vice President for Litigation, Goldwater Institute 

Jessica Melugin 
Director, Center for Technology and Innovation; Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Tom Schatz 
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste 

Seton Motley 
President, Less Government 

Dan Schneider 
Executive Vice President, The American Conservative Union 

Grover Norquist 
President, Americans for Tax Reform 

David Williams 
President, Taxpayer Protection Alliance 

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