Thread by @SenWhitehouse

This smells bad. Highly unusual to pursue antitrust where government involved. Companies often seek “redress” together.
wsj.com/articles/justi…

Back story: fossil fuel companies hijacked CAFE negotiations to sell more gasoline. Autos ditched sham negotiations; California stepped in. @realDonaldTrump pantsed, pissed off; now Barr launches this. Odor of retribution.

@realDonaldTrump Flip it: antitrust conspiracy by fossil fuel to interfere in CAFE negotiations so less auto competition for cleaner cars? If autos fight back hard, discovery could get interesting. Did fossil fuel companies push DOJ to investigate?

@realDonaldTrump Grab your popcorn. This could be quite a show.

What if fossil fuel interests are pulling ALL the strings? DOJ = industry tool? Lawyers can’t lie to the court if asked.

@realDonaldTrump Hmmm. Companies planning together & working through government to defeat competition — how is this different than what the @realDonaldTrump DOJ is alleging against the auto companies? Other than that law doesn’t apply equally to fossil fuel under Trump.
politico.com/story/2019/09/…

@realDonaldTrump These fossil fuel toadies are so used to bullying others for the fossil fuel industry, that they have forgotten what it’s like to take on a real state. I can hardly wait for the D-I-S-C-O-V-E-R-Y of who’s pulling the strings behind this bad-faith effort.
washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…