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Attorney General William P. Barr, who was appointed by Mr. Trump, has played an unusually active role in the investigation. He pushed Justice Department lawyers

Attorney General William P. Barr, who was appointed by Mr. Trump, has played an unusually active role in the investigation. He pushed Justice Department lawyers to bring the case by the end of September, prompting pushback from attorneys who wanted more time and complained of political influence. He has spoken publicly about the inquiry for months and set tight deadlines for the prosecutors leading the effort. I’m not opposed to some anti trust action across the entire industry but making this a partisan election issue is just going to discredit the whole thing and obscure the real issues.

A4ET8a8uTh0 6y ago
Especially if it ends up being ineffective due to rushing. It is not like Google hires no lawyers.
toyg 6y ago
I hate Trump but here his admin is right to rush things. Unless the issue is put on the books before November, chances are that a Dem administration will quietly scrap it (possibly in exchange for concessions on the surveillance side, considering who represents California...). Obviously this should have been done sooner, but it’s Trump we’re talking about, it’s half a miracle if it gets done at all.
- cageface 6y ago
  Given that this case is likely to drag on for years it seems much more important to start it on as solid a legal footing as possible than to slip it past the wire before an election.
- sjg007 6y ago
  Why would dems scrap it? That’s complete nonsense.
  - GenericsMotors 6y ago
    >Why would dems scrap it? https://www.projectveritas.com/news/insider-blows-whistle-exec-reveals-google-plan-to-prevent-trump-situation-in-2020-on-hidden-cam/ https://www.projectveritas.com/news/insider-blows-whistle-ex...
    - viro 6y ago
      Imagine not realizing project veritas is a HORRIBLE source. They have littering been caught red-handed doctoring videos
      - GenericsMotors 6y ago
        > Imagine not realizing project veritas is a HORRIBLE source. Imagine casually dismissing a megacorp exec literally confessing to wanting to interfere in your country's election. > They have littering been caught red-handed doctoring videos 1. At the very least source your claims. 2. Point out which parts of the linked post are doctored or in any way false.
        sjg007 6y ago
        Veritas is a known alt right group that manufactures misinformation.
        GenericsMotors 6y ago
        Which part (if any) of the linked post is manufactured or disinformation?
      - throwaways885 6y ago
        The fact you're criticising the publisher and not the raw video footage just proves there's more to it to me.
        viro 6y ago
        Do you know what a Gish Gallop is? Do you know why they work? no? lets move on then. The creditability of the author MATTERS especially when the author has been known to edit videos to make it look like the subject said something they didn't. Im not spending 2 hours of my life to timestamp every single malicious edit. Do you remember that "Who Is America?" show?
- Shivetya 6y ago
  Well if you look at those "in favor" versus those "thinking about it" which is code for no it is easy to see that those in the former were pushed aside this primary cycle.[0] so the concern is real that Google could escape with a slap on the wrist pending an administration change. Too many like to pretend otherwise but big tech knows whose its real friends are and their party likes the money. So expect a song and dance with enough exceptions and escape routes to be business as usual [0]https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/economic-inequality/break-up-big-tech/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020...
- na85 6y ago
  Antitrust suits were brought against Microsoft under the Clinton administration, and FTC investigations under the Obama administration resulted in changes to AdSense. What makes you think Democrats are more like to scrap an investigation?
  - brightlancer 6y ago
    > What makes you think Democrats are more like to scrap an investigation? Because of the cozy relationship between the Obama administration and Google. https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-makes-most-of-close-ties-to-white-house-1427242076 https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-makes-most-of-close-ties... https://theintercept.com/2016/04/22/googles-remarkably-close-relationship-with-the-obama-white-house-in-two-charts/ https://theintercept.com/2016/04/22/googles-remarkably-close...
DSingularity 6y ago
Why do you think Barr pushed them against Google?
conistonwater 6y ago
I think there is clear precedent for this sort of thing. When I read Fatal Risk (about AIG's financial division from 1980's to the financial crisis in which it collapsed), there was if I remember correctly Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general for New York, with a bunch of cases on which he built a career and a ton of political support that subsequently failed in the courtroom. The result was a complete waste of money and resources on shoddy cases, some people got fired in disgrace and some people got popular. (In Google's case it would be like the CEOs resigning while admitting no wrongdoing and the case itself languishing in court before being settled with no positive outcome for the society.) Let's hope the Google case is not going to turn out that way.

A4ET8a8uTh0 6y ago

Especially if it ends up being ineffective due to rushing. It is not like Google hires no lawyers.

toyg 6y ago

I hate Trump but here his admin is right to rush things. Unless the issue is put on the books before November, chances are that a Dem administration will quietly scrap it (possibly in exchange for concessions on the surveillance side, considering who represents California...). Obviously this should have been done sooner, but it’s Trump we’re talking about, it’s half a miracle if it gets done at all.

cageface 6y ago
Given that this case is likely to drag on for years it seems much more important to start it on as solid a legal footing as possible than to slip it past the wire before an election.
sjg007 6y ago
Why would dems scrap it? That’s complete nonsense.
- GenericsMotors 6y ago
  >Why would dems scrap it? https://www.projectveritas.com/news/insider-blows-whistle-exec-reveals-google-plan-to-prevent-trump-situation-in-2020-on-hidden-cam/ https://www.projectveritas.com/news/insider-blows-whistle-ex...
  - viro 6y ago
    Imagine not realizing project veritas is a HORRIBLE source. They have littering been caught red-handed doctoring videos
    - GenericsMotors 6y ago
      > Imagine not realizing project veritas is a HORRIBLE source. Imagine casually dismissing a megacorp exec literally confessing to wanting to interfere in your country's election. > They have littering been caught red-handed doctoring videos 1. At the very least source your claims. 2. Point out which parts of the linked post are doctored or in any way false.
      - sjg007 6y ago
        Veritas is a known alt right group that manufactures misinformation.
        GenericsMotors 6y ago
        Which part (if any) of the linked post is manufactured or disinformation?
    - throwaways885 6y ago
      The fact you're criticising the publisher and not the raw video footage just proves there's more to it to me.
      - viro 6y ago
        Do you know what a Gish Gallop is? Do you know why they work? no? lets move on then. The creditability of the author MATTERS especially when the author has been known to edit videos to make it look like the subject said something they didn't. Im not spending 2 hours of my life to timestamp every single malicious edit. Do you remember that "Who Is America?" show?
Shivetya 6y ago
Well if you look at those "in favor" versus those "thinking about it" which is code for no it is easy to see that those in the former were pushed aside this primary cycle.[0] so the concern is real that Google could escape with a slap on the wrist pending an administration change. Too many like to pretend otherwise but big tech knows whose its real friends are and their party likes the money. So expect a song and dance with enough exceptions and escape routes to be business as usual [0]https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020/economic-inequality/break-up-big-tech/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/policy-2020...
na85 6y ago
Antitrust suits were brought against Microsoft under the Clinton administration, and FTC investigations under the Obama administration resulted in changes to AdSense. What makes you think Democrats are more like to scrap an investigation?
- brightlancer 6y ago
  > What makes you think Democrats are more like to scrap an investigation? Because of the cozy relationship between the Obama administration and Google. https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-makes-most-of-close-ties-to-white-house-1427242076 https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-makes-most-of-close-ties... https://theintercept.com/2016/04/22/googles-remarkably-close-relationship-with-the-obama-white-house-in-two-charts/ https://theintercept.com/2016/04/22/googles-remarkably-close...

DSingularity 6y ago

Why do you think Barr pushed them against Google?

conistonwater 6y ago

I think there is clear precedent for this sort of thing. When I read Fatal Risk (about AIG's financial division from 1980's to the financial crisis in which it collapsed), there was if I remember correctly Eliot Spitzer, the attorney general for New York, with a bunch of cases on which he built a career and a ton of political support that subsequently failed in the courtroom. The result was a complete waste of money and resources on shoddy cases, some people got fired in disgrace and some people got popular. (In Google's case it would be like the CEOs resigning while admitting no wrongdoing and the case itself languishing in court before being settled with no positive outcome for the society.) Let's hope the Google case is not going to turn out that way.