Big Tech Is Staffed With Hundreds of Former DOJ Employees Amid Antitrust Battle

Big Tech is Hiring Former DOJ Employees During Antitrust Investigation

Big Tech has hired numerous former Department of Justice (DOJ) employees, some of whom have crucial knowledge of government antitrust investigative techniques, according to a “revolving door” analysis by a conservative watchdog group. Over 360 DOJ employees have been employed at Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and HP, mostly since 2011 and dating back to 2000. This comes as the DOJ is currently undertaking an antitrust lawsuit against Google and carrying out other investigations into tech giants.

The American Accountability Foundation carried out the analysis, which also covered DOJ personnel who formerly worked for Big Tech. The majority of personnel movement in question is ideologically based, and leftists move back and forth between the industry and the government to implement their liberal policies, according to Tom Jones, President of the AAF.

AAF’s analysis, which is based on public reports and LinkedIn records, accounted for notable figures such as Lawrence Reicher and Chris Sonderby. For example, Reicher who was Chief of the DOJ’s Office of Decree Enforcement and Compliance between 2020 and 2022, is now Amazon’s Corporate Counsel for Litigation and Antitrust. Sonderby is a Vice President at Meta where he oversees a team of over 500 legal members, and he worked as a senior DOJ representative in Asia from 2006 to 2010 and an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco from 1998 to 2006.

The AAF’s analysis also revealed at least 41 current DOJ employees in influential roles used to work for Big Tech. Notable among these is Glenn Leon, the DOJ’s criminal fraud section chief since September 2022, who worked from 2014 to 2022 as HP’s chief ethics and compliance officer. He also worked for the DOJ under President Barack Obama between 1998 and 2014, a time frame that witnessed various cases involving HP. Meanwhile, Dorian Hurley, a trial lawyer who joined the DOJ in June 2022, was formerly Amazon’s corporate counsel between August 2021 and May 2022. 

The DOJ is currently spearheading investigations into Apple’s mobile software policies, while Google, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok are under investigation by a separate House investigation headed by Senator Cruz. 

There is considerable debate in Congress about antitrust law, and certain Representatives of Congress have formed an antitrust caucus to strengthen existing antitrust framework.