Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project today released the following statement in response to news that Assistant Attorney General of Antitrust Jonathan Kanter is being barred from working on the Department of Justice’s antitrust suit against Google.

“There are no legal grounds for Google’s demand that Jonathan Kanter recuse himself from the Department of Justice’s ongoing suit,” said Sarah Miller, Executive Director of the American Economic Liberties Project. “Federal ethics law and regulations are very clear about the circumstances under which a recusal is necessary; not a single one of those conditions applies to Jonathan Kanter. He has no financial interest in the outcome of this prosecution. And he has no access to confidential information about Google that would undermine the discovery process.”

“Efforts to bar Kanter from this case are transparent attacks on a formidable attorney who has devoted his career to reinvigorating antitrust enforcement,” added Miller. “They are also disrespectful to the President and Senate, which explicitly nominated and confirmed Jonathan Kanter to enforce the law in the context of Big Tech’s abuse of power.”

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.