Roger Alford and William Rinner, two top enforcers in the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, were fired yesterday following weeks of tensions with agency leadership over a merger settlement. Their termination letters stated no reason for their removal, MLex has learned.
Roger Alford and William Rinner, two top enforcers in the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, were fired from their jobs yesterday following weeks of tensions with agency leadership over a merger settlement. Their termination letters stated no reason for their removal, MLex has learned.Alford, the principal deputy assistant attorney general, and Rinner, the deputy assistant attorney general in charge of mergers, were first placed on administrative leave late Wednesday, July 23, by Chad Mizelle, chief of staff and acting associate attorney general at the DOJ, as reported by MLex on Saturday (see here).
It is understood that the two former DOJ enforcers were fired for insubordination. Multiple sources, however, told MLex that yesterday's termination letters made no mention of any grounds for their removal, instead simply stating that they serve at the will of the US attorney general and may be removed at any time.
Alford declined to comment. Rinner could not be reached for comment.
Alford and Rinner's access to the DOJ building and their work e-mail accounts had been revoked when they were placed on administrative leave on July 23 under accusations of having leaked information, MLex understands.
The two Slater deputies are experienced antitrust enforcers, having served in the first Trump administration under the leadership of former Antitrust Division chief Makan Delrahim.
Tensions have been brewing between the DOJ leadership and that of the Antitrust Division over the review of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's acquisition of Juniper Networks. DOJ antitrust chief Gail Slater and some on her team have faced criticism from top DOJ officials over the agency’s challenge of the $14 billion merger, which had been due to go to trial in a California federal court on July 9.
On June 28, the DOJ agreed to drop its challenge in exchange for requiring HPE to make a business divestiture and requiring the merged company to license "critical" Juniper software to independent competitors (see here). In a press release the same day, Mizelle said the approval of the deal “marks another key legal victory from the Department of Justice’s Antitrust division.”
Meanwhile, Slater acknowledged staff, saying, “Thank you to the hardworking men and women of the Antitrust Division for their work on this case.”
Critics of the merger at the American Economic Liberties Project said the settlement requirements were inadequate and amounted to "a stunning about-face on the eve of trial against a deal that the Antitrust Division leadership said themselves would increase ‘concentration in an already concentrated market’" (see here). AELP called on Congress to open an investigation into the US Department of Justice's handling of the deal following a media report that top DOJ leadership overruled its own Antitrust Division to force a last-minute settlement (see here).
The merger closed on July 2, but the settlement is subject to review under the Tunney Act, which allows a judge to determine whether a merger is in the public interest (see here). Such settlements have rarely been rejected by courts.
Democratic US Senator Amy Klobuchar, who serves on the Senate Commerce committee, said the firings are “deeply concerning.”
“The Antitrust Division has long worked to enforce the law to fight monopoly power, but these attorneys may have been fired for doing just that. The Administration must provide answers,” the Minnesota lawmaker said in a post on X.
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