Makan Delrahim, the head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, recused himself from the agency’s probe into whether Google is stifling competition, the department said Tuesday.
The Justice Department said in a statement that Mr. Delrahim recused himself because of ’potential conflicts” with the department’s ethics office.
“He and the ethics office have decided that he should now recuse himself from a matter within the tech review in an abundance of caution,” a department spokesperson said in a statement.
In 2007, Mr. Delharim advised Google as it sought approval from the Federal Trade Commission to acquire DoubleClick, an internet ad company.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a Democratic presidential candidate, last year called for Mr. Delharim’s recusal, citing his ties to Google.
The New York Times first reported on Mr. Delahrim’s recusal.
The Google probe is part of a larger antitrust investigation of big tech firms. Amazon, Apple and Facebook are also part of the review, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Associate Deputy Attorney General Ryan Shores is overseeing the probe.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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