Is Stacey Abrams the next FCC nominee?

AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

According to Communications Daily, Stacey Abrams is lobbying to be the next nominee to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Gigi Sohn, the current nominee, has little to no chance of being confirmed in the Senate.

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Abrams is waiting in the wings for her shot as a D.C. power player. The two time loser in her attempts to become the next governor of Georgia is looking at a seat on the FCC for a job. Can she convince the powers that be that she is the right person?

Erick Erickson called that gem the Tweet of the Day in his newsletter. It’s an eye-opener, that’s for sure. Who would have put her and that gig together? The current Biden FCC nominee is Gigi Sohn. Her nomination is going nowhere fast because the Senate is so evenly split and Sohn’s reputation is that of an extremist, a radical progressive on technology issues. It doesn’t look like the Democrats have found a path to her confirmation. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has committed to re-nominating Sohn in the next session if she is not confirmed in the current session.

Sohn sits on the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)). She is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow & Public Advocate. Sohn has supported the unauthorized release of classified information, which is a federal crime.

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According to an op-ed written by Victoria Coates published by The Washington Times, the EFF supported the classified information leaks from Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. Coates is a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. She served as Deputy National Security Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa in the Trump administration.

The Snowden and Manning leaks should be front and center again as Ms. Sohn’s nomination is considered because she serves as a board member and champion of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which has been outspokenly supportive of her nomination. EFF has a long history of supporting leakers of classified information, including Snowden and Manning. EFF urged for the Manning pardon —even filing a court brief in her support — and continues to advocate for a Snowden pardon. EFF has given Snowden and Manning — and Ms. Sohn — their Pioneer Award, the ostensible purpose of which is to recognize “leaders on the electronic frontier who are extending freedom and innovation in the realm of information technology,” but in practice lionizes anti-American leakers. For his part, Snowden displayed an “EFF” sticker on his laptop case from his safe harbor in Russia when EFF gave him a platform to share his views, in what they disingenuously termed a “fireside chat” with an “NSA Whistleblower.”

The EFF has this backward: Whistleblowers are courageous citizens exposing malfeasance and corruption who merit the protection of the American legal and justice system. Edward Snowden is a criminal living in a hidden location in Russia under the protection of Vladimir Putin, who exploits his treachery against America as a part of Russia’s toolkit to undermine the very fabric of the United States. Lionizing a traitor like Snowden only plays into Putin’s hands.

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It comes down to whether or not you think men like Snowden are heroes (whistleblowers) or not. In Snowden’s case, he’s been granted Russian citizenship. He fled to Russia, where he has lived since 2013 after he leaked NSA files affecting millions of Americans. He faces espionage charges in the United States.

A spokesman for Abrams denies the report in Communications Daily that she is lobbying for the position. “No, Stacey has not applied for or sought out a position on the FCC,” Michael Holloman told Fox News Digital.

Other names are being circulated for the FCC, including Chuck Schumer’s aide Didier Barjon, besides Stacey Abrams.

“Names of new potential candidates to supplant Sohn are circulating, including Schumer aide Didier Barjon, lobbyists said. 2022 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams has also been lobbying the White House to be Biden’s next FCC pick, lobbyists said,” Communications Daily reported on Thursday.

There’s no doubt that Biden will nominate the most extreme person possible, as is his history as far. What’s different about Abrams is that most people on the FCC have previous experience in the telecommunications field. Abrams has none.

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For instance, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr was the agency’s general counsel before he became a commissioner. Prior to joining as a commissioner, Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC chair, served as a senior communications counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee.

This is a nomination to watch.

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