https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180816/10144240445/oversight-hearing-fails-utterly-to-hold-fcc-accountable-lying-to-congress-about-fake-ddos-attack.shtml

FCC "oversight" hearings continue to be comically lacking in the actual oversight department. As we noted previously, today was Congress' opportunity to hold the FCC and agency head Ajit Pai accountable for making up a DDOS attack and then lying (repeatedly) about it to the press, FBI investigators, and Congress. As we've previously stated, both e-mails obtained via FOIA and an FCC Inspector General report found that the FCC bizarrely made up a DDOS attack to try and explain away the fact that John Oliver viewers angry about the net neutrality repeal had organically crashed the agency's website.

The IG's report and internal e-mails go to great lengths to point out that not only did FCC CIO make up a DDOS, but several FCC staffers then misled Congress repeatedly about the total lack of evidence supporting that claim. The false statements were bad enough to warrant them being forwarded to the DOJ, which refused to prosecute anyone. But the e-mails also highlight how the FCC's press office repeatedly misled numerous press outlets, and even went so far as to issue statements denigrating like Gizmodo's Dell Cameron for being "irresponsible" as they slowly uncovered the fake claims.