D.C. Memo: Liberal Journo Sues FCC to Gain Access to Musk/DOGE Data Trove

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FCC: Liberal journalist Nina Burleigh, who covered the Clinton White House for Time magazine, is suing the FCC in federal court in D.C. to gain access to a wide range of documents that she claims could potentially reveal the vast scope of Elon Musk’s financial conflicts in running DOGE for the White House and SpaceX/Starlink for himself at the same time. “As the head of DOGE, Musk has taken on the role of a federal regulator. At the FCC he has the potential to unlawfully influence regulatory decisions affecting his own company SpaceX/Starlink,” Burleigh’s complaint said. The complaint, filed last Thursday, cited a news report that three DOGE employees are now embedded at the FCC. “Musk, via DOGE, can exploit his conflicts of interest, insofar as he is able to review his competitors’ confidential information,” the complaint said. Burleigh zeroed in on the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) – a $20 billion program to support rural broadband deployment. The FCC under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, an appointee of President Joe Biden, refused to give Starlink nearly $900 million in RDOF support. In the complaint, Burleigh said Musk via his DOGE colleagues can gain access to “highly confidential” information submitted by ISPs that competed with Starlink for RDOF funding. “Musk’s dual roles as head of DOGE and Starlink create irreconcilable conflicts of Interest,” Burleigh’s complaint said. (PDF of Burleigh complaint available after the paywall.)