ATR commends Senate Republicans for condemning FTC-DOJ media leak pipeline

In a recent letter to regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), a group of Republican senators called for a federal investigation into the “systematic leakage” of impending antitrust actions to favored media outlets. On Thursday, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) were strong condemned these allegations and called on DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and FTC Inspector General Andrew Katsaros to “immediately investigate these systematic, unethical and potentially illegal leaks.”

American for Tax Reform commends Republican senators for exposing this FTC-DOJ pipeline of media manipulation that unfairly victimizes American companies to subsidize the Biden-Harris administration's judicial failures.

Over the past four years, the Biden-Harris administration has not shied away from using the administrative state to force its corporate opponents into compliance. For example, following Elon Musk's recent run-in as a vocal critic of the White House, President Biden remarked that Musk, an American citizen for over twenty years, was “worth scrutiny” because of his alleged foreign ties. Since that ominous remark in late 2022, Musk has faced an avalanche of fruitless investigations from the DOJ, FTC, FCC, FAA, and NLRB.

But while the exodus of administration officials has become a favored tactic of the Biden administration, the effectiveness of the FTC and DOJ investigations in court has been lacking for some time. According to a recent report released by both agencies, the FTC won only one enforcement action lawsuit in fiscal year 2023, compared to 10 lawsuits that were “discontinued or restructured” after defendant opposition. The DOJ didn't fare much better over the same period, winning just two litigation victories out of ten pre-suit withdrawals. Given this powerlessness within the courtroom, it is no surprise that FTC and DOJ officials have chosen to subsidize their cases in the court of public opinion through strategic media leaks.

In the letter, the lawmakers expressed interest in whether senior officials at the DOJ and FTC “violated their own ethics rules by systematically leaking potential antitrust cases to a particular media company.” It should be noted that both the FTC and the DOJ strictly prohibit the disclosure of civil cases prior to their official filing. The group of senators said that since 2023, Bloomberg News has reported on 12 cases in which both agencies were “preparing” or “ready” to take imminent action as part of a specific antitrust investigation. Eleven of these stories were written by the same reporter. The lawmakers argued that this pattern suggests “certain FTC and DOJ officials are intentionally making public disclosures days or weeks before filing legal action.”

The group of senators strongly criticized such actions, stating that “these leaks lead to negative headlines about the….” [Biden-Harris] The government's targeted companies have no way to respond because they have not yet seen the potential lawsuits.” In addition to their “unethical nature,” the lawmakers said the negative impact of these premature leaks will be felt by a number of innocent, unconcerned parties would, including employees and shareholders of the company.

While the letter acknowledged that American companies should definitely be held accountable for wrongdoing, the lawmakers insisted that “the Biden-Harris administration should not put them on trial in the liberal media.” Unfortunately, due to routine legal failures by the FTC and DOJ, senior agency officials have chosen to manipulate public opinion in their favor. The senators concluded: “These leaks appear to be just another example of this administration using the administrative state as a weapon against politically unfavorable opponents and critics.”

The American people deserve administrative leadership that respects the objectivity of the judicial process. Instead of subsidizing misguided lawsuits through strategic media leaks, the FTC and DOJ should recognize that their radical attempts to shape American antitrust doctrine will not take hold any time soon.

Americans for Tax Reform commends Republican Senators for highlighting this unethical pattern of FTC and DOJ media manipulation that victimizes American companies and unfairly distorts public opinion on antitrust enforcement.