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 NEWS  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE: 
 October  12,  2000 


 PRESS  STATEMENT  OF  FCC  CHAIRMAN  WILLIAM  F.  KENNARD  ON  UNAUTHORIZED  RELEASE  OF  COMMISSION  DOCUMENTS 
 Washington,  DC  --  Recently,  we  have  had  the  misfortune  of  witnessing  the  leaks  of 
 several  pre-  decisional  Commission  documents.  In  each  of  these  instances,  I  have  asked  our 
 Inspector  General,  Walker  Feaster,  to  investigate  these  leaks. 


 We  are  only  aware  of  these  leaks,  however,  if  someone  tells  us  about  them,  or  worse,  if 
 we  read  about  them  in  the  press.  While  we  cannot  and  should  not  deny  the  press  its  freedom  to 
 speak,  we  can  require  that  parties  regulated  or  practicing  before  this  Commission  return  any 
 documents  improperly  leaked  from  the  Commission.  While  this  requirement  cannot  prevent  a 
 leak,  it  will  inform  us  that  a  leak  has  occurred.  By  prohibiting  the  party  that  receives  the  item 
 from  further  distributing  it,  we  also  help  alleviate  the  inequities  inherent  in  one  party  having 
 access  to  information  that  an  opposing  party  may  not.  It  is  not  too  much  to  expect  parties  who 
 appear  before  the  Commission  to  do  their  part  to  respect  and  promote  the  integrity  of  our 
 processes. 


 This  Commission  cannot,  and  should  not,  tolerate  leaks  of  internal,  nonpublic 
 Commission  documents.  We  must  protect  the  integrity  of  the  Commission’s  decision-  making 
 process.  This  item  helps  us  to  do  so. 


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