Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Thomas A.  Schatz today attended a press conference in Columbus, Ohio to protest the continued waste of taxpayer money on the Microsoft antitrust litigation.  The case, currently held up in the U.S. Court of Appeals, has had no positive outcome except burdening taxpayers with unnecessary expense and investors with massive losses.

“Taxpayers are already on the hook in this case for at least $35 million at the federal and state level,” Schatz said.  “Investors have watched their portfolios nosedive since the district court decision to breakup Microsoft last June.  Every poll shows that at least two-thirds of Americans believe the case is a waste of time and money.  The question is how much more time and money will be thrown away.”

Ohio Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery has already spent 3,338.75 hours on the case and requested reimbursement of $633,069.75 from the District Court for the litigation’s cost. 

“The need to justify the time and money already spent on this case is clearly a factor in the win-at-any-cost scenario for some state attorneys general, who are promoting a ‘breakup or bust’ strategy all the way to the Supreme Court,” Schatz added.  “Should the Court of Appeals overturn the breakup and other aspects of the District Court’s original verdict, Attorney General Montgomery should lead the way to resolving this case.  Thousands of CAGW’s 40,000 members and supporters in Ohio have demanded an end to the waste of their tax dollars in this matter.  A settlement would bring closure and allow all parties to get back to productive use of time and resources.” 

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with more than a million members and supporters, dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government.