Democrats Urge Tech Firms to End Quest for Khan Recusal

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and three other congressional Democrats urged Amazon and Facebook Wednesday to end their bid for FTC Chair Lina Khan’s recusal from antitrust decisions involving the companies (see 2107160052). Khan “has no ... conflicts that would require recusal,” Warren and the other Democrats wrote Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “There is no basis for her recusal under the current federal ethics statute or FTC precedent. Your efforts to sideline Chair Khan appear to be nothing more than attempts to force an FTC stalemate that would allow you to evade accountability for any anti-competitive behavior.” Others signing are Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington. Both companies “have engaged in a coordinated attack to discredit Chair Khan on ethics grounds, even -- in the case of Amazon -- going so far as to request immunity from any future antitrust investigations,” the lawmakers said. “The real basis of your concerns appears to be that you fear Chair Khan’s expertise and interpretation of federal antitrust law.” Amazon and Facebook didn’t comment.