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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIS BILL BARR'S RUSHED CASE AGAINST GOOGLE A POLITICAL HIT JOB?
Lawyers investigating anti-competitive practices by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, have said the tight case theyre hoping to build against the massively powerful tech giant requires time and deliberation. But, the New York Times reported Thursday, Attorney General William Barr is hurrying them to wrap up the case sooner, seeking to bring antitrust charges against the tech giant in a matter of weeks. Sources familiar with the matter told the paper that Barr had imposed a September 30 deadline for the dozens of career attorneys working the case to finish their inquiry, a timeline reportedly opposed by most of the team.
According to a Justice Department official who spoke to the Times, Barr is setting the deadline because he feels the department had moved too slowly in building its case against Alphabet. But, in the view of the career attorneys investigating the company, the September 30 date seems arbitrary or politically motivated, and could jeopardize the high-profile case against one of the worlds wealthiest and most powerful tech corporations. Barr is pushing DOJ lawyers to draw up half-baked cases for a complaint this fall, some on the team have reportedly told associates.
The closely-watched Google inquiry could become one of the biggest antitrust cases in recent memory. Amid widespread scrutiny of big tech, which has featured calls from Elizabeth Warren and others to break up large tech companies, the DOJ last year opened two probes into Alphabet. The first, launched in June 2019, appears focused on its search business. The second, opened the following month, was a broader inquiry into Google and other tech firms monopolistic behavior. As the Times reported, many lawyers had been eager to work on the cases, but have, at times, become frustrated as politics, both internal and external, weighs down the probes. Among the teams, there are reportedly disagreements about tactics, including the deadline Barr has set for them to conclude their work. Then theres the outside noise around the cases: Donald Trump and other allies have blasted Google, alleging anti-conservative bias by the company and other tech giants like Facebook and Twitter. The Radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google, the president tweeted in May. The Administration is working to remedy this illegal situation. Such sweeping claims arent backed up by evidenceFacebook, for one, is a platform dominated by conservative views. Still, Barr has endorsed his bosss conspiratorial thinking. Theres something very disturbing about whats going on, he said in July.
According to the Times, such political accusations could feature in Googles eventual defense in whatever case Barr may bring. In addition to the presidents partisan interest in the investigation, lawyers involved worry the rushed timeline could undermine what they believe could be a strong case against the company. To fell a giant like Alphabet, of course, the DOJs shot has to be powerful and precise. Bringing a case prematurely, the lawyers told the Times, could result in a weaker complaint thats easier for the company to bat away.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/is-bill-barrs-rushed-case-against-google-a-political-hit-job
uponit7771
(90,367 posts)CincyDem
(6,404 posts)RainCaster
(10,926 posts)I worked at Microsoft during the DOJ antitrust investigation of 1998-99. I watched my direct manager testify to Congress and my email account was locked down as evidence.
That was the first big antitrust case against technology, and there was lots of deliberate and methodical investigation on the part of the DOJ. They have learned a lot from that case, and so they know how long it will take to get a solid case.
DFT's stupidity about scheduling assumes that 9 women can deliver a child in one month. It don't work that way.