This has been in the offing for a while. Stymied by the decision of newest FCC commission Robert McDowell to recuse himself in the AT&T-BellSouth merger, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has asked the legal eagles to figure out a way to get him unrecused. As we’ve noted before, McDowell is trying to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest because he was a lobbyist for an association that opposes the merger. That has denied Martin his usual three-person Republican majority and deadlocked the vote along party lines. The goal appears to be a decision in time for the Dec. 20 scheduled meeting of the FCC; the vote has been delayed repeatedly and without a way to get McDowell on board, appears to be stuck. InternetNews.com has more details.