DOJ Whistleblower: Bill Barr Improperly Targeted Marijuana Companies with Investigations Because He ‘Did Not Like’ Their Business Attorney General Bill Barr isn’t too high on marijuana as a business, so he improperly targeted cannabis company mergers with antitrust investigations, a DOJ whistleblower alleges. Current DOJ employee John Elias said in a prepared statement, which will be delivered before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, that Barr weaponized the power of the DOJ antirust division to persecute businesses he doesn’t personally like. The statement from Elias, a “career official in the Justice Department’s antitrust division,” comes not long after we got our first look at former Mueller prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky’s revelations on DOJ political interference in the Roger Stone case. Elias said that he was concerned enough about what he saw that he reported it to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. “I am a career employee at the Department of Justice. Based on what I have seen, and what my colleagues saw and described to me, I was concerned enough to report certain antitrust investigations launched under Attorney General Barr to the Department of Justice Inspector General,” Elias began. “I asked him to investigate whether these matters constituted an abuse of authority, a gross waste of funds, and gross mismanagement. I am appearing here today under subpoena to describe these matters to the Committee. Although I am a current DOJ attorney, my testimony is personal and does not represent the views of the Department.” Elias said that he has “undertaken whistleblower activity, and am here today, because I recognize the imperative for law enforcers to operate even-handedly and in good faith.” According to Elias, Barr did not do so in at least two cases: First, at the direction of Attorney General Barr, the Antitrust Division launched ten full-scale reviews of merger activity taking place in the marijuana, or cannabis, industry. These mergers involve companies with low market shares in a fragmented industry; they do not meet established criteria for antitrust investigations. Second, I will detail an investigation – initiated the day after tweets by President Trump – of an arrangement between the State of California and four automakers on fuel emissions. Elias claimed that Barr targeted marijuana companies MedMen and PharmaCann with antirust probes—not to undertake “bona fide antitrust investigations,” but because Barr just doesn’t like the nature of the budding businesses: However, on March 5, 2019, Attorney General Barr called the Antitrust Division leadership to his officer for a meeting entitled “Marijuana Industry Merger Review.” As a Microsoft Outlook delegate of one of the attendees, I was copied on the calendar appointment but did not attend the meeting. The Antitrust Division political leadership asked staff to prepare a short briefing memo for Attorney General Barr before the meeting. In that memo, staff emphasized in underlined text that in its preliminary view, the transaction was unlikely to raise any significant competitive concerns that would justify issuance of Second Requests. Rejecting the analysis of career staff, Attorney General Barr ordered the Antitrust Division to issue Second Request subpoenas. The rationale for doing so centered not on an antitrust analysis, but because he did not like the nature of their underlying business. “Second Request investigations are infrequent because they require companies to respond to burdensome administrative subpoenas – often 15 pages or longer – and produce hundreds of thousands or millions of documents,” Elias noted. https://lawandcrime.com/high-profil...anies-because-he-did-not-like-their-business/
The Attorney General can legally order all the Federal Attorneys to do his bidding. Obama had had them lower the priority of marijuana. Trump and Sessions reversed that. The evil legal system has few checks and balances.
Barr is bravely taking on Big Tobacco as they are quickly buying out or forcing out every Small Business Ownership of Cannabis in the nation. Deep State flunkie Elias is obstructing investigations into criminal organizations of enormous magnitude, endangering lives.
Phillip Morris has been geared up for massive cannabis production and marketing since the 1960s.....Barr is no hero...he's a liar...that's your deep state..nobody is surprised the major tobacco companies are going to dominate the industry....but you'll probably be getting Bud lite.....not Grolsch Pilsner...the high end will always be dominated by the small farmer who has developed the best genetics.....this goes on in every industry...it's why pre war Martin guitars cost a fortune and the factory made ones today do not. Quality over quantity will always have a place in the market
Cute. Obama was the ultimate Deep State Pimp for big tobacco, big oil, big banks, big tech, deliberately prevented any real legal restraint of any globalist corporation or entity. Barr is crushing America's domestic enemies inside our government and both political parties, and exposing their foreign accomplices who have been allowed to victimize America. Deep State panic is at a peak, causing them to resort to the old favorite distractions of promoting race wars and tanking the economy. Total failure though. Nobody is buying it. We already have seen how quickly POTUS Trump can bring back prosperity and no intelligent American buys into the systemic racism nonsense emanating from the fake news channels. They see that the only states with riots and massive Harvard Wuhan Virus deaths are Dem strongholds. They know Trump took the first and only strong and effective deterrent action by severely restricting travel from infected countries. They know ALL Deep State Dems screamed he was being racist for doing it and claimed it was totally unnecessary. They know now the same Deep State traitors claim he did nothing, did it too late, even though they were using a fake impeachment to try to handcuff his ability to protect Americans from the virus they created and released upon the world. Outside of this forum, it's pretty hard to find anyone who actually supports the Dems anymore or even knows what they stand for. Somebody want to tell me specifically what they think Biden and whatever Deep State handler is assigned to be his VP will do for you?
What I “think Biden and whatever Deep State handler is assigned to be his VP willdo for you (me)” is to NOT be Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Anything else I can answer for you?
Apparently there are lots of people "buying it" as trumps approval rating keeps dropping lower and lower and his bullshit is only for his foolish devout followers. 40% approval rating tells you all you neen to know.
unseat the most incompetent president ever in our history...the deep state is bullshit....it's just money and it's influence. Big oil was spearheaded before Obama was born and Clinton spearheaded the tech boom...Dick Cheney was the oil tycoon...your lack of depth concerning this can be fixed....and outside this forum it's Biden 50...Trump 36. Facts
lol...you're probably right. To be honest, I'm surprised that post wasn't removed...maybe because by design, I didn't make it clear who i was referring to.
Barr is going to pay the price in the form of a criminal investigation of him after Biden takes office.
