The Department of Justice under President Joe Biden has once again come under scrutiny for potential politicization, as it seeks to drop a fraud case against the DISH Network chairman. The move follows a significant donation made by the CEO and his wife to Biden’s reelection campaign, prompting questions about the motives behind the decision.
The Post reported:
“Ergen, a former professional poker player who helped launch what was then called EchoStar Communications in 1980, has battled the federal fraud claim for nearly a decade. But the Tennessee native saw his luck change shortly after he and spouse Candy contributed $100,000 to Biden’s super PAC and maxed out with matching $6,600 donations to the president’s principal campaign committee in December, according to campaign finance filings. This past January, Dish nabbed a $50 million grant from the administration to help expand 5G coverage nationwide — the “largest award” of its kind, the company crowed — through a $1.5 billion fund created by the CHIPS and Science Act. On Jan. 12, two days after the $50 million award was announced, attorneys at the Justice Department intervened on behalf of Dish — and “tried to bully” Vermont Telephone, which filed the fraud claim, “into an unethical settlement” by threatening to have the suit dismissed, according to lead attorney Bennett Ross.”
Vermont Telephone executives have alleged that the Department of Justice under President Biden’s administration is engaging in political maneuvering in relation to the case.
“[I]t appears that the effect — if not the purpose — of the DOJ’s rush to seek dismissal of this case is to protect Mr. Ergen from being questioned under oath,” the company’s attorney said in a Feb. 8 letter to the lead Department of Justice attorneys involved in the case, to a copy of the letter examined by The Post said.
“We do not believe it is a coincidence that Mr. Ergen, his wife (who also is scheduled to be deposed next week), and DISH’s Political Action Committee collectively contributed in excess of $5 million to Democratic candidates and causes between 2008 and 2022,” the attorney said.
“With the upcoming election, this case looks like just the latest example of the DOJ’s two-tiered justice system under which the well-heeled, politically connected are treated one way, while everyone else is treated differently,” he said.
The case is currently awaiting a decision by the judge, as the government submitted a motion to dismiss on March 8. According to The Post, the Department of Justice’s Civil Fraud division opposed any involvement in the case during 2022 and 2023.
“As far as we are aware, relators have filed approximately 4,000 [similar] actions under the False Claims Act since 2018, and the DOJ moved for dismissal in approximately 65 of those cases, which is less than two percent,” attorney Ross said to The Post.
“And in those cases where the DOJ has sought dismissal, it generally was because the case suffered from a fatal defect, which is not the case with Vermont Telephone’s claims against DISH,” he said.
The Department of Justice argued that due to the lack of evidence and challenges in proving damages, the benefits of continuing litigation for the Government are minimal. On the other hand, the costs for the Government and the Court are substantial due to extensive discovery. However, Vermont Telephone’s attorney contended that there are no grounds for dismissing the case.
“The Defendants short-changed the government $3.3 billion, an amount that remains unpaid to this day,” he said. They also corrupted a program designed to benefit real small businesses, distorted the FCC auction process, and thwarted the deployment of wireless spectrum for the benefit of the public. The Defendants should be held accountable,” Ross noted.
