For Immediate Release	Daytime contact:  Jessica Shoemaker 202-467-5318
November 2, 2005	After hours contact:    David Williams 202-258-6527

 

(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today submitted three formal requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the Department of Justice (DOJ).  The letters refer to DOJ’s Antitrust Division, seeking material related to fiscal years 2000 through 2006, including a breakdown of cases initiated, a budget itemization, and a list of consultants employed during this period of time.

“The Department of Justice represents the American people, and like any other ‘client,’ taxpayers deserve to know precisely how their money is being spent.  The antitrust division, in particular, should be transparent and accountable, and should provide the information being sought in the FOIA requests as quickly as possible,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz.

The FOIA requests are part of an ongoing effort to determine the DOJ’s cost of antitrust litigation.  In 2000, CAGW estimated that the onerous six-year litigation against Microsoft cost taxpayers between $30 and $60 million.  At that time, DOJ did respond to a FOIA request for information on the cost of that litigation, which CAGW judged as being incomplete.  Recently, DOJ squandered an undisclosed amount of taxpayer money in its futile 14-month attempt to block the Oracle-PeopleSoft merger.  On October 26, DOJ issued a second request for information on the proposed Oracle-Siebel merger in the customer relationship management (CRM) business.  One positive antitrust note is the approval last week of the SBC-AT&T and Verizon-MCI mergers, making the Oracle-Siebel extension even more absurd.  The second request delves into Oracle’s database management software business and other products and services that have nothing to do with the CRM marketplace.

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“The Department of Justice spent 14 months reviewing every aspect of Oracle’s business, and should not need additional information,” said Schatz.  “The unrelated questions on database management suggest over-reaching by DOJ.  Given the competitive nature of the CRM marketplace and the logic behind mergers in that field, there is no reason to use taxpayer money to impede economic progress.  DOJ’s review will make it difficult to get ahead of the European Commission, which could move forward on its review and blocking the merger, thereby protecting the largest company in the CRM marketplace, SAP, from greater competition.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.

 

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