Revolving door: Big Tech staffed with hundreds of ex-DOJ employees amid antitrust battle

[Valin]

The Washington Examiner

Gabe Kaminsky, Investigative Reporter
April 01, 2023

Big Tech is staffed with hundreds of former Department of Justice employees, some of whom have key insight into government antitrust investigative methods, according to a watchdog's "revolving door" analysis.

Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and HP have hired at least 360 DOJ employees, mostly since 2011 and in one example dating back to 2000, according to an analysis by the American Accountability Foundation, a conservative watchdog group. The analysis, which also includes information on DOJ employees who used to work for Big Tech, comes amid the department's antitrust lawsuit against Google and other investigations into tech giants.

ACADEMICS BACKING GOOGLE IN SUPREME COURT CASE HAVE PERSONALLY BENEFITED FROM TECH GIANT

"Normally it is not concerning when individuals move between government and industry because it is usually for professional purposes," Tom Jones, president of AAF, told the Washington Examiner. "Why Americans should be troubled by this revolving door is because it is an ideological relationship where leftists move back and forth between industry and government to implement their liberal agenda."

"When the levers of government are not available, they use the levers of Big Tech to push a woke agenda," Jones, the former opposition research program head for Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) presidential campaign in 2016 and an ex-legislative director to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), added. "It is insidious and needs to stop."

(Snip)

Antitrust has spawned heated debate in Congress, with Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), a longtime critic of Big Tech, saying in mid-March that he doesn't see Republican leadership imposing tougher laws. The House Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee is being led by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has leaned libertarian on issues and is considered by more conservative Republicans to be less likely to target corporate power than Buck.

Buck and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) formed the Congressional Antitrust Caucus in early February with the aim of "holding Big Tech and monopolies accountable."

“The Congressional Antitrust Caucus will give members of Congress who care about holding monopolies accountable and encouraging competition in the Big Tech marketplace an opportunity to bring competition policy to the Congress and to the minds of the American people," Buck said at the time. "This is a critically important policy area and one where thoughtful, bipartisan work can deliver results."