by Matt Stoller at BIG by Matt Stoller
“It is my belief that the number one threat to our liberty is big government. It is also my belief that the number two big threat to our liberty is big business, when big business is able to use the apparatus of government to wrap around its objectives.” – Rep. Matt Gaetz
In 2021, Congress nearly passed a set of laws to constrain the power of big tech, the first significant legal reform of antitrust in half a century. And one of the key actors in the debate was Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman who was just appointed by Donald Trump to be the Attorney General of the United States.
The Attorney General is the boss of the boss of the Antitrust Division, so Gaetz will have an important role in determining whether the government continues to litigate antitrust suits against Visa, Apple, Google, RealPage, Live Nation/Ticketmaster, and UnitedHealth Group, among others. Moreover, the power of the DOJ is far more extensive on corporate matters than just antitrust, with jurisdiction over fraud, criminal behavior, civil violations, civil rights, narcotics enforcement, regulation of alcohol markets, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and national security, for starters. For example, the FBI used to be a critical agency for antitrust investigations, but during the War on Terror, its white collar investigative resources went to counter-terrorism. Will the next Attorney General reverse that choice? That would be nice to know!
In other words, it’s important to examine Gaetz’s unusual track record on corporate power, if for no other reason than he will sit for confirmation hearings and there are important questions to ask. Of course, there’s a lot beyond just Gaetz’s views. There are sordid stories about his personal behavior, as well as ethics investigations, though he has not been prosecuted and his constituents reelected him despite widespread reporting. And law enforcement is an awesome power. There are always important constitutional questions involved in this role, perhaps more during Trump’s second term. Trump is seeking to reshaping the Federal government by refusing to spend money that Congress has appropriated, which is an aggressive seizure of power. Deportation, censorship, civil service protections, war and peace, and the fusion of private actors like Elon Musk with government are outstanding issues, as are questions of political retaliation and pardons. We’ve never had a President under criminal indictment, and now we do.
In addition,…
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