Post by graybeard on Jan 22, 2009 18:21:07 GMT -6
Reagan castrated Anti-trust in 1981, marking the resurgence of trusts and monopolies that have stifled competition and abused employees.
This is a good day. Thank you, Barack.
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Varney Selected by Obama as Justice Department Antitrust Chief
By Greg Stohr and James Rowley
Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Christine Varney, a Washington lawyer who has represented EBay Inc. and News Corp.’s MySpace, was chosen by President Barack Obama to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
Her appointment was one of four announced by Obama today to fill out the Justice Department leadership. The new president also selected former Clinton administration lawyer Lanny Breuer to head the department’s criminal division.
Varney, 53, is a former Federal Trade Commission member with a reputation as a deal broker, one who would let mergers proceed as long as the companies agreed to concessions to preserve competition. At the same time, she often joined 3-2 majorities to press antitrust and consumer-protection complaints against companies.
“She wasn’t insanely, crazy aggressive, but she was certainly an aggressive enforcer,” said Joe Sims, a Washington antitrust lawyer with Jones Day. “She’ll probably be aggressive but in a sensible, adult way, which is what you’d like to have.”
At the FTC, Varney voted to accuse Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. of pressuring manufacturers to keep popular toys out of discount stores, to pursue consumer-protection claims against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for its “Joe Camel” advertising campaign and to impose conditions on Time Warner’s acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
Her appointment likely will mean stepped-up antitrust enforcement at the Justice Department, which scaled back its scrutiny of predatory pricing and monopolistic behavior during George W. Bush’s presidency.
Clinton Impeachment
Breuer worked in the White House counsel’s office under President Bill Clinton and helped defend Clinton during his impeachment trial. Last year, as a lawyer at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, Breuer represented baseball pitcher Roger Clemens when he testified before a congressional panel about alleged steroid use.
Obama also said he will nominate David Kris to head the national security division and Tony West to lead the department’s civil division.
Kris, a former associate deputy attorney general who has been critical of the Bush administration’s wiretapping program, is now the chief compliance officer at Time Warner Inc. West is a litigator at Morrison & Foerster in Washington and a former Justice Department attorney.
“The American people deserve to have faith that their Justice Department will keep them safe and uphold our most basic rights,” Obama said in a statement. “This group has the depth of experience and integrity necessary to accomplish these goals.”
Jonathan Leibowitz
The Justice Department shares antitrust enforcement authority with the FTC. Jonathan Leibowitz, now an FTC commissioner, is a top candidate to become its chairman, according to lawyers familiar with the selection process.
Leibowitz, 50, previously served as the Democratic antitrust counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Washington lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America.
Varney left the FTC in 1997 to run the Internet practice group at the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson. She represented Netscape Communications Corp. in its effort to impose tougher restrictions on Microsoft Corp., Netscape’s chief rival in the Internet browser field.
Varney helped found several industry self-regulation associations, including the Network Advertising Initiative and the Online Privacy Alliance, according to Hogan & Hartson’s Web site. Much of her work in private practice has focused on privacy issues. She worked on Obama’s transition team, serving as personnel counsel.
Appointed by Clinton
Varney was appointed to the FTC as a Democratic member by President Bill Clinton. She previously served as Clinton’s White House Cabinet secretary and chief counsel for his 1992 presidential campaign.
The Bush administration Justice Department was criticized by lawmakers and consumer groups for allowing large corporate mergers, including consolidation in the telecommunications industry and Whirlpool Corp.’s takeover of appliance rival Maytag Corp.
The department brought few cases challenging the conduct of individual companies. By contrast, the Clinton administration accused Microsoft of an illegal monopoly and sued to force Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. to let member banks issue competing payment cards.
During the Bush years, the Justice Department on several occasions clashed with the FTC, which was more aggressive in challenging businesses practices. Most notably, the FTC accused makers of brand-name drugs of seeking to delay cheaper competition by paying generic manufacturers to stay off the market.
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This is a good day. Thank you, Barack.
-----------------
Varney Selected by Obama as Justice Department Antitrust Chief
By Greg Stohr and James Rowley
Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Christine Varney, a Washington lawyer who has represented EBay Inc. and News Corp.’s MySpace, was chosen by President Barack Obama to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
Her appointment was one of four announced by Obama today to fill out the Justice Department leadership. The new president also selected former Clinton administration lawyer Lanny Breuer to head the department’s criminal division.
Varney, 53, is a former Federal Trade Commission member with a reputation as a deal broker, one who would let mergers proceed as long as the companies agreed to concessions to preserve competition. At the same time, she often joined 3-2 majorities to press antitrust and consumer-protection complaints against companies.
“She wasn’t insanely, crazy aggressive, but she was certainly an aggressive enforcer,” said Joe Sims, a Washington antitrust lawyer with Jones Day. “She’ll probably be aggressive but in a sensible, adult way, which is what you’d like to have.”
At the FTC, Varney voted to accuse Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. of pressuring manufacturers to keep popular toys out of discount stores, to pursue consumer-protection claims against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for its “Joe Camel” advertising campaign and to impose conditions on Time Warner’s acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
Her appointment likely will mean stepped-up antitrust enforcement at the Justice Department, which scaled back its scrutiny of predatory pricing and monopolistic behavior during George W. Bush’s presidency.
Clinton Impeachment
Breuer worked in the White House counsel’s office under President Bill Clinton and helped defend Clinton during his impeachment trial. Last year, as a lawyer at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, Breuer represented baseball pitcher Roger Clemens when he testified before a congressional panel about alleged steroid use.
Obama also said he will nominate David Kris to head the national security division and Tony West to lead the department’s civil division.
Kris, a former associate deputy attorney general who has been critical of the Bush administration’s wiretapping program, is now the chief compliance officer at Time Warner Inc. West is a litigator at Morrison & Foerster in Washington and a former Justice Department attorney.
“The American people deserve to have faith that their Justice Department will keep them safe and uphold our most basic rights,” Obama said in a statement. “This group has the depth of experience and integrity necessary to accomplish these goals.”
Jonathan Leibowitz
The Justice Department shares antitrust enforcement authority with the FTC. Jonathan Leibowitz, now an FTC commissioner, is a top candidate to become its chairman, according to lawyers familiar with the selection process.
Leibowitz, 50, previously served as the Democratic antitrust counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Washington lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America.
Varney left the FTC in 1997 to run the Internet practice group at the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson. She represented Netscape Communications Corp. in its effort to impose tougher restrictions on Microsoft Corp., Netscape’s chief rival in the Internet browser field.
Varney helped found several industry self-regulation associations, including the Network Advertising Initiative and the Online Privacy Alliance, according to Hogan & Hartson’s Web site. Much of her work in private practice has focused on privacy issues. She worked on Obama’s transition team, serving as personnel counsel.
Appointed by Clinton
Varney was appointed to the FTC as a Democratic member by President Bill Clinton. She previously served as Clinton’s White House Cabinet secretary and chief counsel for his 1992 presidential campaign.
The Bush administration Justice Department was criticized by lawmakers and consumer groups for allowing large corporate mergers, including consolidation in the telecommunications industry and Whirlpool Corp.’s takeover of appliance rival Maytag Corp.
The department brought few cases challenging the conduct of individual companies. By contrast, the Clinton administration accused Microsoft of an illegal monopoly and sued to force Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. to let member banks issue competing payment cards.
During the Bush years, the Justice Department on several occasions clashed with the FTC, which was more aggressive in challenging businesses practices. Most notably, the FTC accused makers of brand-name drugs of seeking to delay cheaper competition by paying generic manufacturers to stay off the market.
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