Previous message: http://www.politechbot.com/p-02765.html ********* From: Jason Thomas <jthomasat_private> To: "'declanat_private'" <declanat_private> Subject: RE: Rep. John Conyers asks DOJ to reveal info about pro-MS talks Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2001 13:19:25 -0500 Declan, Microsoft's lobbying activity is a legacy of the case. They have learned well from the inquisition. After all, how many times have you heard someone spout off about how naïve it was for Microsoft not to fund a cadre of D.C. lawyers and lobbyists before the suit? Now that Microsoft has learned the value of hosting lunches and paying consultants to visit with policymakers, it is fitting that some of the same DC "insiders" find it unseemly. This legacy will have profoundly negative consequences because it reaffirms the basic socialistic pretension that consumers are less fit to pick winners and losers in the marketplace than regulators in Washington, D.C. This means that private businesses still must concern themselves with the preferences of consumers, but they must also devote a significant portion of their time and resources to Washington, because any disgruntled competitor can trump consumer sovereignty with a coordinated effort backed by well-placed lobbyists and politicians. ********* From Anonymous: Declan - (off the record) You're making a completely invalid comparison. Klein was head of antitrust enforcement -- he's required as part of his job to speak with anyone with an interest in the case. Israelite is RECUSED from the case -- he shouldn't have been talking to anyone about the case, and he may have violated the law by doing so. And I'm surprised that you think it's all right for career attorneys at Justice to be threatened for not going along with politically-motivated efforts to tank the case. For Conyers to seek info about this is entirely appropriate. [I think that's a reasonable point, but Conyers is not talking just about one fellow. His letter demands "copies of any and all 'communications' (as defined above), by any Department employees or consultants regarding a possible settlement or proposing any suggestions or differing terms than those you agreed to." Conyers has said he opposes the settlement and it's reasonable to assume that he'll do anything within reason to scuttle it. --DBM] ********* Quick off-the-record comment: I have no particular opinion one way or the other about the wisdom of the lawsuit or the proposed settlement. But I'm not sure that the situations you compare are fairly comparable. Rules of ethics or professional responsibility can differ in their applicability based on whether parties are in actual litigation. Once you're in court (especially this far in the proceedings) things might well be different. ********* Subject: Re: FC: Rep. John Conyers asks DOJ to reveal info about pro-MS talks To: declanat_private From: "Ted Killheffer" <Ted.Killhefferat_private> Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2001 13:24:22 -0500 Declan, I have no axe to grind re the proposed Microsoft settlement. I do find much of the talk about "lobbying" to be a bit disingenuous. Would a Klein/Barksdale meeting be inappropriate when DOJ was deciding whether to charge Microsoft in the first place but appropriate when Justice was developing the case that they had already brought? Are meetings between Microsoft and DOJ ok when conducted by lawyers but tainted when Microsoft's representatives are lobbyists? How do you tell the difference? The cost of their suits? I should think that congressmen, of all people, would be reluctant to cast these charges around. Don't they imply that votes or administrative actions are for sale? Or is it that, when your enemies do it, it's improper influence but when you do it, it's constituent service? Makes you wonder! ********* From: "Harold Burstyn" <harold.burstynat_private> To: <declanat_private> References: <5.1.0.14.0.20011107102914.02cfe010at_private> Subject: Re: Rep. John Conyers asks DOJ to reveal info about pro-MS talks Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2001 13:31:02 -0500 > ...Personally, I think it's > reasonable to be concerned by clandestine influence-peddling talks -- of > any kind. I agree. > Conyers, alas, seems only interested in condemning the kind of > clandestine talks that could lead to a settlement in the Microsoft case. Thank goodness, in an age of money politics, there are legislators on both sides. You wouldn't want all the influence coming from only one side, would you? Harold L. Burstyn, Attorney-at-Law (NY & FL) and Registered Patent Attorney 216 Bradford Parkway, Syracuse NY 13224-1767, tel. (315) 445-0620 mailto:burstynhat_private http://www.ecs.syr.edu/faculty/burstyn/ ********* Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2001 13:36:57 -0500 To: declanat_private From: "James M. Ray" <jray@free-market.net> Subject: Re: FC: Rep. John Conyers asks DOJ to reveal info about pro-MS talks Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-UIDL: cf2abec0a39a3f6c339cf0f600b9e3ba At 12:02 PM -0500 11/07/2001, Declan McCullagh wrote: ... >Now Conyers is in a snit because some DOJers might have been having, gasp, >some favorable-to-Microsoft conversations! Personally, I think it's >reasonable to be concerned by clandestine influence-peddling talks -- of >any kind. Conyers, alas, seems only interested in condemning the kind of >clandestine talks that could lead to a settlement in the Microsoft case. ... The distinction isn't which big-corporation, for a hyper-partisan Democrat like John Conyers, it's instead a question of "which political party is doing the influence-peddling?" I never saw Conyers complaining about the influence of the Lippo Group! I think a majority of people would agree that Bill Gates, using his checkbook, could easily shut Congresscritter Conyers up in about an hour. JMR ********* ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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