Fired DOJ Antitrust Official Accuses Bondi Leadership of Corruption in $14B Merger

Former DOJ antitrust official Roger Alford publicly accused Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle of ‘perverting justice’ by overruling career officials to approve the Hewlett Packard Enterprise-Juniper Networks $14 billion merger. Alford and another senior official were fired for opposing the settlement influenced by MAGA-aligned lobbyists.

Context: DOJ sued HPE in January 2025 to block the merger combining the nation’s second and third largest enterprise wireless networking providers. Bondi’s chief of staff overruled Antitrust Division head Gail Slater and approved a settlement allowing the merger despite career staff opposition. Congressional Democrats wrote to Bondi on August 1 expressing concerns that Trump officials ‘yielded to lobbyists with close White House ties.’

Significance: Political appointees overruling expert antitrust analysis to benefit well-connected companies exemplifies institutional capture. Firing career officials for upholding the law and rewarding political loyalty over expertise converts the Justice Department into a pay-to-play system where corporate mergers succeed based on lobbying connections rather than legal merit, undermining competition enforcement.