https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/02/silicon-valley-barr-antitrust-probes-118485
Bad news for Silicon Valley: William Barr is taking control of antitrust probes
Recent moves have sidelined DOJ's antitrust leaders, leaving oversight of investigations into companies like Google to the AG's handpicked staff.
William Barr
Attorney General William Barr said at his confirmation hearings that antitrust would be one of his priorities. | Brynn Anderson/AP Photo
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That leaves Okuliar as the point person for the tech probes within the Antitrust Division, helping manage day-to-day questions from the more than 30 lawyers assigned to work on the cases along with Shores. They are also highly involved in the discussions with state attorneys general who have opened parallel probes into Google and Facebook. A meeting at DOJ in February with the attorneys general of Texas, Nebraska and Utah was organized in part to allow them to meet Shores and Okuliar, according to people who attended.
In speeches in December, Barr said he hopes to have the tech platform probes wrapped up by the end of this year.
At the very least, Delrahim is expected to remain at DOJ through May, when the U.S. will host the International Competition Network, an annual gathering of competition enforcers from around the world. The U.S. was a founding member of ICN, along with the European Union and 12 other jurisdictions. Today, the group is made of 126 jurisdictions, including every major country except China.
For the first time, the U.S. will play host for the gathering in Los Angeles — Delrahim’s hometown.