<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div>Hi Greg, Mathieu, all<br><br></div>I am just thinking aloud here; I am not sure i understand where/why Sidley comes into this picture. A meeting with CCWG Co-chairs was requested, i don't think we need legal firm's advice on that, neither do we need their participation....i think we just need to determine if it should happen or not. My personal preference would have been to refer them to CCWG informational pages or for it to be informal (i.e in their individual capacity) as Kavouss indicated.<br><br>Nevertheless, i agree with your comment about not being so blunt. I will then suggest that Co-Chairs attend the meeting in their capacity as co-chairs with the intent of providing informational reference and providing clarification to them based on any question they ask relating to ccwg processes and status. Any hypothetical question that may be asked should be refereed to the ccwg; its important that the co-chairs don't attempt to address issues that is pending clearly finalised direction within the ccwg. The meeting recordings may also need to be recorded for documentation purposes.<br><br></div>That said, i think we should note that the US may not be the only country following this process and so we need to be mindful of the preference given to different departments in US. Think about a scenario where my country for instance writes the co-chairs with the similar intent of interacting with you in order to improve their participation.<br><br>Regards<br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 1:49 PM, Greg Shatan <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:gregshatanipc@gmail.com" target="_blank">gregshatanipc@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Mathieu,<div><br></div><div>I agree with Ed and suggest that Sidley be consulted on this immediately. Excellent points have been made in this thread. However, I personally would not recommend "stonewalling" them and sending them to read our transcripts, etc. As between our two esteemed firms, Sidley has a significant presence in Washington and has lawyers deeply knowledgeable about dealing with the USG. Our team includes a former Congressman and a former General Counsel of the Deoartment of Commerce. We will need to work with them to determine how to respond and how to handle the interviews, since we have more background on how ICANN (the community) works and may also need to point out some of the congressional activities to date regarding IANA (they did watch the latest Senate hearing) -- and, of course, we are the client.</div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div><br></div></font></span><div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">Greg Shatan</font></span><div><div class="h5"><span></span><br><br>On Monday, March 30, 2015, Edward Morris <<a href="mailto:egmorris1@toast.net" target="_blank">egmorris1@toast.net</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Hi Mathieu,<div><br></div><div>Thanks for sharing this request with us.</div><div><br></div><div>I'm not particularly comfortable with placing you, Thomas and Leon in the position of representing the CCWG before a Congressional agency. I would simply direct the agency to our transcripts, recordings and documents, all online, should they want information about our activities. If after looking at these materials the G.A.O. has further questions they should feel free to submit them in writing and as a group we can chose how to respond and vet the responses together before sending them back to Congress.</div><div><br></div><div>My reluctance to fully comply with the GAO request, as proffered, is largely based upon the following reasons:</div><div><br></div><div>1. We're not a traditional heirarchical based organisation where chairs speak and direct the group. Rather it's the other way around. We all know this, you all know this, I'm not sure an outside organisation such as the GAO really would understand this to the extent necessary. I would hate to see your views be reinterpreted as representative of the entire groups as the GAO processes your interviews;</div><div><br></div><div>2. In the best of situations when interviewed by professionals folks occasionally misspeak. I don't believe that either yourself, Thomas or Leon are native English speakers. Word choice is sometimes a problem among non native speakers - I know it is for me when I converse in one of my secondary languages.. We saw this a bit in Istanbul where on occasion clarifications had to be made from the head table because the language used in presenting information was not precise and led to misinterpretations by some. I don't mean to be critical of the linguistic capability of our leadership trio - Leon, in particular, has an English language ability that surpasses my own. It's just in this highly politicised world I would hate for a moment of "misspeak" to be twisted or interpreted in a way it was not intended.</div><div><br></div><div>3. Politics. In a bygone era the G.A.O. truly was an independent nonpartisan research branch of Congress. I still want to believe it largely is. Sadly, with greater frequency the G.A.O. has been accused by some of being a bit more partisan in its research. I would hate to see anything said by the C.C.W.G. leadership used in a political manner by those charged with this investigation.</div><div><br></div><div>If, despite the foregoing, it is decided that it is in the best interest of all to go forward with the interview I would respectfully suggest the following:</div><div><br></div><div>1. It be made clear to the investigators that yourself, Thomas and Leon are speaking for yourselves and not for the group as a whole during your interview, and</div><div><br></div><div>2. Prior to agreeing to do so you confer with our independent counsel as to their views and advice on the matter.</div><div><br></div><div>None of the foregoing should in any way be interpreted as anything critical of our fine co-chairs. It's just that he environment, poisoned a bit by Mr. Chehade's less than positive characterisation of the CWG leadership and work, is one in which I believe that caution is advised.</div><div><br></div><div>Kind Regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Ed Morris</div><div><br></div><div> <br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 11:11 AM, Mathieu Weill <span dir="ltr"><<a>mathieu.weill@afnic.fr</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Dear Colleagues,<br>
<br>
For your information, the US Governement Accountability Office has
requested a teleconference with the co-chairs of the CCWG. Tentative
date is currently discussed for next week (7 or 8 April). <br>
<br>
Your inputs are welcome. <br>
<br>
Best regards,<br>
Thomas Rickert, Leon Felipe Sanchez, Mathieu Weill<br>
<div><br>
<br>
-------- Message transféré --------
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th nowrap valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Sujet :
</th>
<td>April 1, 2, or 3 Meeting Request CCWG-Accountability
Chairs</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th nowrap valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Date : </th>
<td>Thu, 26 Mar 2015 17:45:11 +0000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th nowrap valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">De : </th>
<td>Healey, John C <a><HealeyJ@GAO.GOV></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th nowrap valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Pour : </th>
<td>'<a>rickert@anwaelte.de</a>' <a><rickert@anwaelte.de></a>,
'<a>mathieu.weill@afnic.fr</a>' <a><mathieu.weill@afnic.fr></a>,
'<a>leonfelipe@sanchez.mx</a>' <a><leonfelipe@sanchez.mx></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
<br>
<font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:11pt">
<div>Good day, Mr. Rickert, Mr. Sanchez Ambia, and Mr. Weill:</div>
<div> </div>
<div>You may recall meeting my colleagues, Derrick Collins,
Alwynne Wilbur, and Kate Perl at the ICANN meeting in
Singapore in February. </div>
<div><font face="Calibri"> </font></div>
<div>At any rate, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
has been asked by the Chairs of the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce and its Communications and Technology
Subcommittee to review the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration’s
(NTIA) proposed transition of key Internet domain name
functions to the global multistakeholder community. We are
meeting with knowledgeable people and organizations to
gather information for our work.</div>
<div><font face="Calibri"> </font></div>
<div>We would like to meet with you via teleconference to
discuss the proposed transition from the perspective of the
Accountability working group. We have provided a list of
questions, below, to give you a better idea of the topics we
want to discuss with
you, and I’ll provide a teleconference line after confirming
your availability (please “reply all” so that others can
know of your availability). In addition to the discussion,
we would also welcome written responses.</div>
<div><font face="Calibri"> </font></div>
<div>Would you be available for a one-hour time slot during
one of the following blocks?<br>
</div>
<ul style="margin:0;padding-left:36pt">
<li>Wednesday, April 1<font size="1"><span style="font-size:7.3pt"><sup>st</sup></span></font>:
10:00 – 11:00 EST</li>
<li>Thursday, April 2<font size="1"><span style="font-size:7.3pt"><sup>nd</sup></span></font>:
11:00 – 12:00 EST</li>
<li>Friday, April 3<font size="1"><span style="font-size:7.3pt"><sup>rd</sup></span></font>:
10:00 – 11:00 EST</li>
</ul>
<div><font face="Calibri"> </font></div>
<div> </div>
<div>We would also like to meet with Steve DelBianco and
Cheryl Langdon-Orr to discuss their work with the Stress
Test Work Party. Please let me know if you’d like to be part
of that meeting, too.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Thank you,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>John</div>
<div><font face="Calibri"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Calibri"> </font></div>
<div>John Healey, Senior Analyst</div>
<div>Physical Infrastructure Team</div>
<div>U.S. Government Accountability Office</div>
<div>441 G Street NW, Washington DC, 20548</div>
<div><a href="tel:%28202%29%20512-5006" value="+12025125006" target="_blank">(202) 512-5006</a> | <a>HealeyJ@gao.gov</a></div>
<div><font face="Calibri"> </font></div>
</span></font>
<br>
</div>
<br>
</div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Accountability-Cross-Community mailing list<br>
<a>Accountability-Cross-Community@icann.org</a><br>
<a href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community" target="_blank">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br></div>
</blockquote></div></div></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Accountability-Cross-Community mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Accountability-Cross-Community@icann.org">Accountability-Cross-Community@icann.org</a><br>
<a href="https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community" target="_blank">https://mm.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/accountability-cross-community</a><br>
<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><font color="#888888"><blockquote style="margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex;font-family:garamond,serif">
<i><span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)">Seun Ojedeji,<br style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"></span><span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)">Federal University Oye-Ekiti<br style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"></span><span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)">web: </span><a href="http://www.fuoye.edu.ng" target="_blank">http://www.fuoye.edu.ng</a><br>
<span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"></span><span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)">Mobile: <a value="+2348035233535">+2348035233535</a></span><span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)"></span><br></i><i><span style="color:rgb(0,102,0)">alt email:<a href="http://goog_1872880453" target="_blank"> </a><a href="mailto:seun.ojedeji@fuoye.edu.ng" target="_blank">seun.ojedeji@fuoye.edu.ng</a></span></i><br><br><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">The key to understanding is humility - my view !<br></blockquote></blockquote></font><br></div></div>
</div>