By Leah Nylen, Politico
The Trump administration’s Justice Department and the attorneys general from almost every state have spent the past year laying the groundwork for an antitrust lawsuit against Google, with a decision on filing the case expected to come this summer.
But now it’s Labor Day weekend, and disagreements between the department and mostly Democratic AGs are holding up the launch of what would be the biggest antitrust battle in a generation, seven people involved in the discussions told POLITICO.
Meetings in the coming weeks could resolve the impasse, which include questions about what aspects of Google’s empire to target, the people said. Another crucial dispute is whether to push to file the suit before Election Day — assuring it as a legacy for Attorney General William Barr — or risk leaving the case’s future in the hands of a Biden administration.
Widespread consensus still exists between Barr’s department and dozens of AGs of both parties that they have a strong case against Google, whose command of both the online search and digital ad markets has brought complaints from competitors in industries such as advertising, tech and media. But the closeness to the Nov. 3 election has heightened the partisan dimensions of the disputes, including qualms about President Donald Trump’s anti-tech agenda and doubts about Joe Biden’s past closeness with Silicon Valley.
