Want your company’s merger approved? Pay a MAGA influencer.
A former Trump Justice Department appointee blasted some of his ex-colleagues in a speech Monday, saying they “perverted justice and acted inconsistent with the rule of law” — and he named names.
Roger Alford was a top appointee in the DOJ’s antitrust division in both President Donald Trump’s first and second terms. He and his boss, DOJ antitrust division chief Gail Slater, are associated with a faction on the right that wants tougher antitrust enforcement. They take a more skeptical view of mergers in sectors where only a few major companies are competing.
But Alford was fired last month. And now, he’s gone public about what happened, outlining what he said amounted to a “pay-to-play” scandal, where companies paid well-connected outside MAGA influencers to try to get mergers approved, and certain top DOJ officials played ball.
“For 30 pieces of silver, MAGA-in-Name-Only lobbyists are influencing their allies within the DOJ and risking President Trump’s populist conservative agenda,” Alford said. “Their goal is to line their own pockets by working for any corporation that will pay top dollar to settle antitrust cases on the cheap.”
“Perverted justice and acted inconsistent with the rule of law”
Though Alford didn’t have anything negative to say about Trump or Attorney General Pam Bondi, he pointed the finger at two........
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