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NEW: @ddayen & @ryangrim report that Renata Hesse, an Obama DOJ alum who advised Amazon on its Whole Foods acquisition and once worked with Ted Cruz to defend Google from an antitrust suit, is the frontrunner to head the Biden DOJ's antitrust division. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
Juan Arteaga, another Obama DOJ veteran who defended JPMorgan Chase and other financial firms in fraud cases and represented AT&T in its merger with Time Warner, is also being considered for deputy assistant attorney general in the antitrust division. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
“Bringing in anybody from Big Tech to a leadership role in antitrust is a political, policy, and managerial disaster. We know how the revolving door works. The ideology of big companies shapes the ideology of government.” — @ZephyrTeachout https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
Hesse has revolved between government and corporate defense since the 1990s.
In 2005, she advised the IRS to nix free public tax filing services for those making above $50,000 per year, allowing Intuit (makers of TurboTax) to continue gouging taxpayers. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
In 2005, she advised the IRS to nix free public tax filing services for those making above $50,000 per year, allowing Intuit (makers of TurboTax) to continue gouging taxpayers. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
After leaving DOJ in 2006, Hesse spent five years defending Google from antitrust investigations as a corporate lawyer at Wilson Sonsini.
In 2010, she teamed up with then-Morgan Lewis partner Ted Cruz to kill a Texas antitrust suit against Google. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
In 2010, she teamed up with then-Morgan Lewis partner Ted Cruz to kill a Texas antitrust suit against Google. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
In 2012, Renata Hesse returned to the DOJ and oversaw the Department's approval of several mega-mergers, including the Comcast/NBCUniversal deal, Humana's acquisition of insurance provider Arcadian, and Virgin Airlines' purchase of Alaska Airlines. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
After Donald Trump's election, Hesse joined BigLaw giant Sullivan & Cromwell, where she used her government experience and knowledge to help corporate giants like Amazon and Novartis get DOJ approval for various anti-competitive mega-mergers. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
Clients Renata Hesse has advised since 2017:
— Amazon, on its $13.7b purchase of Whole Foods
— Pharma giants Merck, Novartis, and Amgen
— The Harris/L3 Technologies defense contractor merger
— American Express, on its purchase of online lender Kabbage https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
— Amazon, on its $13.7b purchase of Whole Foods
— Pharma giants Merck, Novartis, and Amgen
— The Harris/L3 Technologies defense contractor merger
— American Express, on its purchase of online lender Kabbage https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
Hesse is married to Joshua Soven, who is also a partner at Wilson Sonsini advising Google.
Soven has also represented Grubhub, LinkedIn, Marriott, HP, and T-Mobile, and is a regular donor to Republicans like Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, and Susan Collins. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
Soven has also represented Grubhub, LinkedIn, Marriott, HP, and T-Mobile, and is a regular donor to Republicans like Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, and Susan Collins. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
Juan Arteaga, a leading contender for Deputy AAG of Antitrust, has defended financial giants JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, and Deutsche Bank in various corruption, securities fraud, and interest rate manipulation cases. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
Arteaga, a partner at BigLaw firm Crowell & Moring, has also worked on numerous antitrust litigation cases involving clients such as American Express, Discover, AT&T, United Technologies, and private equity giant KKR. https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
"An Obama restoration in antitrust is the worst possible outcome. [Renata Hesse and Juan Arteaga] would represent Obama 2.0 on antitrust, which would give us ever-strengthened Big Tech platform monopolies and so much more.” — @jeffhauser https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/big-tech-critics-alarmed-at-direction-of-biden-antitrust-per/
We are proud to stand with @Public_Citizen, @econliberties, @openmarkets and nearly 40 other groups calling for President-elect Biden to appoint antitrust enforcers with no ties to Big Tech and dominant corporations in the industries they would regulate. https://www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Final_AntitrustAppointmentsLetter_1.18.docx.pdf
We commend @ddayen and @ryangrim for their reporting on this critical story.
To learn more about Renata Hesse, Juan Arteaga, and other troubling antitrust candidates, check out our latest blog by @EAlsbergas and @andreambeaty. https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/bidens-antitrust-minefield/
To learn more about Renata Hesse, Juan Arteaga, and other troubling antitrust candidates, check out our latest blog by @EAlsbergas and @andreambeaty. https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/bidens-antitrust-minefield/
