Senators Must Reject Assoc. Attorney General Nominee Stanley Woodward, after Former DOJ Official says he “Perverted Justice” by Allowing Outside Lawyers and Lobbyists to Corrupt Antitrust Enforcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee today, Public Citizen detailed shocking new revelations by a former top Trump Administration Department of Justice official that two high-ranking Department of Justice officials have corrupted DOJ antitrust enforcement by taking meetings and cutting deals with favored corporate lobbyists and lawyers.
One of those two officials, Stanley Woodward, is currently serving as Counselor to Attorney General Bondi and was nominated by President Trump to be Associate Attorney General – the #3 DOJ position where he would oversee antitrust enforcement. Woodward’s nomination is currently awaiting a confirmation vote by the full Senate.
“If he’s taking secret meetings and cutting side deals with corporate lobbyists to kill aggressive antitrust enforcement by the Department of Justice, Mr. Woodward is unfit for this job,” said Public Citizen democracy advocate Jon Golinger, who authored the letter sent to Senators today. “Antitrust law enforcement protects fair competition, ensures consumer choice in the marketplace, and prevents price-gouging by monopolies. Lobbyists being paid to corrupt Department of Justice antitrust cases should be kicked out of the building, not invited inside.”
As detailed in Public Citizen’s letter to Senators today:
- Perverted Justice: In a speech last week describing what he observed, Roger Alford – until recently the second-in-command of the DOJ’s antitrust division – said: “. . .corrupt lobbyists with no relevant expertise are perverting actual law enforcement through money, power, relationships, and influence.” Alford alleged that Stanley Woodward, along with DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle, were heavily involved in negotiating a DOJ antitrust settlement in June that allowed Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to acquire a competitor, Juniper Network in a $14 billion deal. Mr. Alford and another former senior antitrust enforcer, William Rinner, were reportedly fired after objecting to the involvement of lobbyists and politically connected lawyers settlement talks.
- Lobbyists Inside DOJ: The revelations about Mr. Woodward’s role in DOJ’s proposed settlement of the HPE-Juniper antitrust case raise the question of whether there are other antitrust matters Mr. Woodward has influenced after meeting with lobbyists? According to a Public Citizen review of lobbying filings, Ballard Partners – Attorney General Bondi’s former lobbying firm – was paid $150,000 between April 1 and June 30, 2025 to lobby the Department of Justice on behalf of client American Express Global Business Travel (AmEx GBT) on “Antitrust issues.” While the lobbying reports do specifically disclose that lobbyists Brian Ballard and Justin Sayfie lobbied DOJ during that time on behalf of AmEx GBT, they do not state the names of who at DOJ they lobbied. Given the fact that DOJ suddenly dismissed its antitrust case against AmEx GBT last month, it’s imperative that Senators know whether Mr. Woodward – who has working as Counselor to AG Bondi since April 1 – met with the Ballard lobbyists.
“Given these revelations, prior to Mr. Woodward’s nomination being considered by the full Senate, Mr. Woodward should be required to come back before the Judiciary Committee at a hearing to detail any conversations, communications, or meetings he has had with lobbyists, consultants, or other individuals being paid to stop the Department of Justice from aggressively engaging in antitrust enforcement,” said Golinger. “If it is the case that Mr. Woodward has been taking meetings and cutting deals with favored corporate lobbyists and outside lawyers to impede antitrust enforcement, he should not be confirmed as Associate Attorney General.”