Khan has appeared alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among other progressive lawmakers.
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) is opening an investigation into Federal Trade Commission chairwoman Lina Khan’s political events with progressive lawmakers.
Comer wrote a letter to the Khan Tuesday morning asking the independent agency to turn over documents and communications related to Khan’s appearances with Democrats to determine whether she did so within legal and ethical guidelines, National Review has learned.
“The Committee is seeking documents and communications to understand your participation in these partisan activities and whether your appearances at campaign-season events with Democrat candidate —as the head of an independent, bipartisan federal commission—complied with all relevant laws and ethical guidelines,” Comer’s letter reads.
Punchbowl News reported last week that Khan was scheduled to appear at political events with Representatives Greg Casar (D., Texas), Mark Pocan (D., Wisc.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D., Ill.) and Gallego (D., Ariz.), and socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.). Gallego is the Democratic nominee for Arizona’s senate seat up for grabs this November.
Moreover, Khan recently appeared at events with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.), Neguse (D., Colo.) and Senator John Hickenlooper (D., Colo.), according to Punchbowl.
“This blatant partisanship and political activity are consistent with what the Committee has learned in its review of your tenure as Chair. The FTC has subordinated the Commission’s independent role to the political will and left-wing ideology of the Biden-Harris Administration and its political allies,” Comer added.
Comer’s latest move represents an expansion of the Oversight Committee’s ongoing probe into Khan’s alleged efforts to politicize the FTC to advance the Biden administration’s goals and bolster Democratic talking points.
Comer is seeking documents and communications between the FTC and the Democratic lawmakers in question, the Democratic National Committee, and the White House from January 2024 to the present. He is also demanding the FTC turn over internal documents and communications related to the possible use of federal funds for Khan’s campaign appearances and discussions with the agency’s internal ethics official about her campaign stops.
“FTC Chair Khan only attends official events at the request of members of Congress, abiding by all the rules governing her role as chair. Members invite Chair Khan to official events so she can hear from their constituents, because every community has a stake in fair competition,” FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar told National Review.
Khan’s aggressive legal battles against big business have made her one of the Biden administration’s most polarizing appointees. Her antitrust crusades have won plaudits from progressives and become part of the Democratic Party’s campaign messaging this cycle.
Some populist conservatives, dubbed “Khanservatives,” have also credited Khan for going after large technology companies they consider socially destructive and biased against conservatives. Among them is Senator J. D. Vance, the GOP’s 2024 vice presidential nominee, and Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), a close ally of former president Donald Trump. Free-market oriented conservatives have strongly criticized Khan’s approach, arguing her actions are unfounded and threaten to harm consumers and stifle innovation.
While a student at Yale law school, Khan became a prodigy in the progressive antitrust movement with her much-discussed 2017 paper, Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox, a foundational text for progressives opposed to the consumer welfare standard.
As FTC chair, Khan’s legal record is decidedly mixed, and she has received criticism for her workplace management. But the antitrust movement recently scored a major victory against Google when a judge found the company engaged in monopolistic search practices, siding with the Justice Department.