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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning to file an antitrust complaint against Google as soon as this month, according to the New York Times based on information from five people familiar with the matter.

Three of the sources told the newspaper that DOJ officials instructed career lawyers involved in the antitrust investigation into Google to finish their work by the end September.

DOJ career lawyers oppose rushing the filing of antitrust lawsuit against Google

A majority of the career lawyers opposed the deadline as they need more time to prepare a strong case against the tech giant. Attorney General William Barr rejected their argument and he believed that the deadline was reasonable because they were moving very slowly on the case.

Some of the career lawyers viewed the deadline as arbitrary and they are worried that Barr wants to announce the antitrust lawsuit against Google before the presidential election in November. Several of the career lawsuit said they will not sign the complaint while others already left the case this summers, according to the report.

Fifteen lawyers who worked on the case told the newspaper that the Attorney General’s decision could weaken their lawsuit against the search engine giant.

The Justice Department started its antitrust investigation into Google in June 2019. A few months later, a multistate coalition of Attorneys General launched a similar inquiry, focusing on the tech giant’s advertising and search businesses.

The state Attorneys General are also divided on their strategy on how and when to move forward with their case. Republicans think Democrats are moving slowly on their inquiry so they can bring the complaint against Google after the election, possibly under a Biden administration. On the other hand, Democrats are accusing Republicans of expediting their investigation under the Trump administration.

The disagreement could reduce the number of states willing to join in the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Google this September.

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