Justice Department's Antitrust Chief Removes Himself From Google Probe
February 04 2020 - 8:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Brent Kendall and Sadie Gurman
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department's chief antitrust
enforcement official has recused himself from the department's
investigation into whether Alphabet Inc.'s Google is unlawfully
suppressing competition.
The department said that as the probe progressed, Assistant
Attorney General Makan Delrahim came to realize that he needed to
recuse himself because of his past work in private practice.
Google was a one-time client. In 2007, Mr. Delrahim advised the
search giant as it sought approval from the Federal Trade
Commission to buy internet ad firm DoubleClick.
Some people who have been critical of Google and other Big Tech
companies, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a
Democratic presidential candidate, called for Mr. Delrahim's
recusal months ago.
Mr. Delrahim "revisited potential conflicts with previous work
with the Department of Justice's ethics office. He and the ethics
office have decided that he should now recuse himself from a matter
within the tech review in an abundance of caution," a department
spokesman said.
The New York Times first reported Mr. Delrahim's recusal.
The department for months has been investigating Google, as well
as conducting a broader probe into whether other tech giants,
including Facebook Inc., are using their dominance in ways that
violate U.S. antitrust law. The reviews are expected to last for
much of 2020.
Associate Deputy Attorney General Ryan Shores is overseeing the
reviews.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com and Sadie Gurman
at sadie.gurman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 04, 2020 08:34 ET (13:34 GMT)
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