The Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Joe Biden has sparked controversy yet again, as it seeks to dismiss a decade-long fraud case against the chairman of DISH Network following substantial financial contributions to Biden’s reelection campaign.
According to reports from The New York Post, eyebrows were raised when the DOJ, typically reserved in such matters, intervened after CEO Charlie Ergen and his wife made donations exceeding $113,000 to Biden’s campaign coffers in recent months. Ergen, a former professional poker player instrumental in the founding of EchoStar Communications in 1980, has been embroiled in a federal fraud allegation for nearly ten years.
However, his fortunes shifted shortly after he and his spouse contributed $100,000 to Biden’s super PAC and maximized donations of $6,600 each to the president’s primary campaign committee in December, as per campaign finance disclosures. In January, Dish secured a $50 million grant from the administration for expanding nationwide 5G coverage—a move heralded by the company as the “largest award” of its kind, facilitated through a $1.5 billion fund established by the CHIPS and Science Act.
Coinciding with the grant announcement on January 12, DOJ attorneys intervened on behalf of Dish, allegedly pressuring Vermont Telephone, the plaintiff in the fraud claim, to settle by threatening case dismissal, claimed lead attorney Bennett Ross. Accusing Biden’s DOJ of politicizing the case, Vermont Telephone officials suggested the rush to dismiss aimed to shield Ergen from oath-based questioning.
The company’s attorney conveyed suspicions in a letter dated February 8, pointing out significant donations from Ergen, his spouse, and DISH’s Political Action Committee to Democratic causes between 2008 and 2022. “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,” the attorney asserted.
The government filed a motion to dismiss the case on March 8, pending the judge’s decision. Reports indicate that the DOJ’s Civil Fraud division had opposed interfering in the case in 2022 and 2023. Attorney Ross emphasized that out of approximately 4,000 similar actions filed under the False Claims Act since 2018, the DOJ sought dismissal in fewer than two percent of cases.
He argued against the dismissal, highlighting the alleged financial damages incurred and the misuse of a program designed for small businesses’ benefit, urging accountability for the defendants.
