GOOG Alphabet Inc

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.

Mr. Delrahim already had been ceding turf within the Justice Department on Big Tech, as top leadership has taken an unusually active interest in antitrust enforcement against online platforms. Both Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen are playing an active role in the probes, and each has added antitrust counsel to their offices.

Antitrust lawyer Ryan Shores, who works in Mr. Rosen's office, is overseeing the tech reviews. The department hired him last fall from Shearman & Sterling LLP, part of its effort to add legal firepower as it considers whether to bring a groundbreaking case against Google or other tech companies.

The internal shifts could make life more difficult -- and less predictable -- for Google as it may have to deal directly with offices within the Justice Department that don't usually participate in antitrust matters.

Mr. Delrahim's recusal came last week, according to people familiar with the matter, after he and ethics officials took stock of recent advances in the Justice Department's investigation. Google's ad business, including DoubleClick, has become an increasingly prominent focus of the investigation, and Mr. Delrahim and the department wanted to remove any appearance of a conflict of interest as the probe progresses further, the people said.

His recusal will have immediate ramifications, including on Tuesday, when Mr. Delrahim won't participate in a scheduled meeting between department officials and state attorneys general about their respective Google investigations.

Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com and Sadie Gurman at sadie.gurman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 04, 2020 10:13 ET (15:13 GMT)

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