Emails obtained by The Post reveal Federal Trade Commission nominee Melissa Holyoak’s chummy rapport with ex-colleagues at a Google-funded think tank – including one who wrote of the FTC that “burning it to the bottom is just too good for it.”
Holyoak, the Republican solicitor general of Utah, previously spent five years as an attorney for the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
The think tank “advocates abolishing antitrust law” and has drawn funding in recent times from the likes of Google, Meta and Amazon, in keeping with public disclosures.
“She selected to work there for several years, and she or he kept up warm relations with them,” an industry source who requested anonymity to debate the situation told The Post. “How are you positioned that way when you aren’t incredibly hostile to the existence and role of the FTC?”
The newly revealed emails stretch from July 2021 through December 2022 and showed a friendly relationship between Holyoak, CEI boss Kent Lassman and other top officials on the think tank.
Holyoak exchanged legal advice on notable cases – including the Apple v. Epic Games antitrust battle — and fielded requests to seem at CEI events.
As The Post reported, Holyoak’s FTC bid has recently faced scrutiny after she played a key role in negotiating the terms of Google’s $700 million settlement with US states over anticompetitive Android app store practices — a deal widely panned as overly lenient to the search giant.
In a single email thread from Dec. 7, 2021, Lassman told Jessica Melugin, CEI’s top expert on tech-related antitrust cases, to send Holyoak “anything you wrote on the Apple/Epic imbroglio” because Holyoak “desires to understand how you approached the query of market definition.”
In the identical email, Lassman tried to enlist Holyoak in an effort to dissolve the FTC entirely.
“Let me know once you and the nice people of Utah are able to help me overturn Humphreys Executer and subsequently go after the Federal Trade Commission Act for repeal,” Lassman wrote. “The place is horrible and burning it to the bottom is just too good for it.”
Melugin responded by sending Holyoak links to her work disputing Epic’s legal arguments – including a Bloomberg column wherein she argued that Epic’s lawsuits against Google and Apple “could harm consumers” and a separate CEI blog post wherein she defended Apple’s app store practices.
Holyoak thanked Melugin for her insight. The emails didn’t show whether she responded to Lassman’s “burning it to the bottom” quip.
Holyoak defended her record in an announcement to The Post — asserting that she has “held Big Tech accountable, leading Utah’s work in lawsuits against Google, Facebook, and most recently, TikTok” as Utah’s solicitor general.
“Understanding opposing views on these issues—including the Google and Apple app stores—was helpful once I took opposite positions from CEI in each the Epic v. Apple amicus and the Google litigation,” Holyoak said in an announcement. “I think it’s critical to grasp all sides of the problems to best represent the interests of Utah and its residents.”
When contacted concerning the emails, the CEI’s Lassman said the think tank “often interacts with policymakers each in public and privately in the middle of our work to eliminate harmful bureaucratic controls.”
“General Holyoak’s work history shows a wide selection of experiences. She at all times brings an open mind to latest questions and sharp insight to the matter at hand,” Lassman added.
In May 2022, a CEI official invited Holyoak to function a keynote speaker on the think-tank’s policy summit in Santa Fe. Holyoak accepted the identical day and exchanged a variety of follow-up emails to plan out her appearance.
In an email dated Oct. 13, 2022, Lassman introduced Holyoak to Josh Wright – himself a former FTC commissioner and legal scholar who served on Google’s legal team ahead of the landmark antitrust trial targeting its search business. Google cut ties with Wright after multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him surfaced last August.
“My purpose tonight is to make certain that the 2 of you’ll be able to discuss these interesting legal and policy issues,” Lassman wrote.
When questioned by lawmakers about her dealings with Wright in the course of the Senate panel’s hearing on her candidacy, Holyoak acknowledged speaking to him about “his experience” on the FTC each before and after her nomination, but said she had not spoken to him since learning of the allegations.
In an email exchange on Dec. 7, 2022, CEI general counsel Dan Greenberg emailed Holyoak asking for advice on the firm’s handling of Moore v. US, a case difficult the federal “mandatory repatriation tax” that reached the Supreme Court.
As The Post previously reported in June, insiders feared Holyoak lacked the mandatory antitrust bona fides – and fretted that FTC chief Lina Khan would “run circles” round her on enforcement.
Holyoak’s past work with CEI previously drew scrutiny last July, when a gaggle of conservative groups, including the Bull Moose Project, urged Senate Republicans in an open letter to reject her bid over alleged Big Tech ties that “make her wholly unsuitable for the position.”
The groups asserted that Holyoak has “objected to dozens of sophistication motion settlements involving Google and other firms” during her profession and actively worked to “frustrate any attempts to place limits on their market power.”
Holyoak’s candidacy also faced opposition from a gaggle of 17 progressive groups who highlighted concerns about her work with CEI, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, Holyoak has described the Google settlement she helped to barter as a “tremendous win for consumers.”
In an announcement submitted ahead of her Senate hearing last September, Holyoak also noted she supervised Utah’s participation in other antitrust suits involving Google and Meta.
Despite the lingering concerns, the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted to advance each Holyoak and fellow GOP nominee Andrew Ferguson last October.
Confirmations to the vacant FTC seats depend upon a final vote by the complete Senate, which has yet to occur.
Emails obtained by The Post reveal Federal Trade Commission nominee Melissa Holyoak’s chummy rapport with ex-colleagues at a Google-funded think tank – including one who wrote of the FTC that “burning it to the bottom is just too good for it.”
Holyoak, the Republican solicitor general of Utah, previously spent five years as an attorney for the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
The think tank “advocates abolishing antitrust law” and has drawn funding in recent times from the likes of Google, Meta and Amazon, in keeping with public disclosures.
“She selected to work there for several years, and she or he kept up warm relations with them,” an industry source who requested anonymity to debate the situation told The Post. “How are you positioned that way when you aren’t incredibly hostile to the existence and role of the FTC?”
The newly revealed emails stretch from July 2021 through December 2022 and showed a friendly relationship between Holyoak, CEI boss Kent Lassman and other top officials on the think tank.
Holyoak exchanged legal advice on notable cases – including the Apple v. Epic Games antitrust battle — and fielded requests to seem at CEI events.
As The Post reported, Holyoak’s FTC bid has recently faced scrutiny after she played a key role in negotiating the terms of Google’s $700 million settlement with US states over anticompetitive Android app store practices — a deal widely panned as overly lenient to the search giant.
In a single email thread from Dec. 7, 2021, Lassman told Jessica Melugin, CEI’s top expert on tech-related antitrust cases, to send Holyoak “anything you wrote on the Apple/Epic imbroglio” because Holyoak “desires to understand how you approached the query of market definition.”
In the identical email, Lassman tried to enlist Holyoak in an effort to dissolve the FTC entirely.
“Let me know once you and the nice people of Utah are able to help me overturn Humphreys Executer and subsequently go after the Federal Trade Commission Act for repeal,” Lassman wrote. “The place is horrible and burning it to the bottom is just too good for it.”
Melugin responded by sending Holyoak links to her work disputing Epic’s legal arguments – including a Bloomberg column wherein she argued that Epic’s lawsuits against Google and Apple “could harm consumers” and a separate CEI blog post wherein she defended Apple’s app store practices.
Holyoak thanked Melugin for her insight. The emails didn’t show whether she responded to Lassman’s “burning it to the bottom” quip.
Holyoak defended her record in an announcement to The Post — asserting that she has “held Big Tech accountable, leading Utah’s work in lawsuits against Google, Facebook, and most recently, TikTok” as Utah’s solicitor general.
“Understanding opposing views on these issues—including the Google and Apple app stores—was helpful once I took opposite positions from CEI in each the Epic v. Apple amicus and the Google litigation,” Holyoak said in an announcement. “I think it’s critical to grasp all sides of the problems to best represent the interests of Utah and its residents.”
When contacted concerning the emails, the CEI’s Lassman said the think tank “often interacts with policymakers each in public and privately in the middle of our work to eliminate harmful bureaucratic controls.”
“General Holyoak’s work history shows a wide selection of experiences. She at all times brings an open mind to latest questions and sharp insight to the matter at hand,” Lassman added.
In May 2022, a CEI official invited Holyoak to function a keynote speaker on the think-tank’s policy summit in Santa Fe. Holyoak accepted the identical day and exchanged a variety of follow-up emails to plan out her appearance.
In an email dated Oct. 13, 2022, Lassman introduced Holyoak to Josh Wright – himself a former FTC commissioner and legal scholar who served on Google’s legal team ahead of the landmark antitrust trial targeting its search business. Google cut ties with Wright after multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him surfaced last August.
“My purpose tonight is to make certain that the 2 of you’ll be able to discuss these interesting legal and policy issues,” Lassman wrote.
When questioned by lawmakers about her dealings with Wright in the course of the Senate panel’s hearing on her candidacy, Holyoak acknowledged speaking to him about “his experience” on the FTC each before and after her nomination, but said she had not spoken to him since learning of the allegations.
In an email exchange on Dec. 7, 2022, CEI general counsel Dan Greenberg emailed Holyoak asking for advice on the firm’s handling of Moore v. US, a case difficult the federal “mandatory repatriation tax” that reached the Supreme Court.
As The Post previously reported in June, insiders feared Holyoak lacked the mandatory antitrust bona fides – and fretted that FTC chief Lina Khan would “run circles” round her on enforcement.
Holyoak’s past work with CEI previously drew scrutiny last July, when a gaggle of conservative groups, including the Bull Moose Project, urged Senate Republicans in an open letter to reject her bid over alleged Big Tech ties that “make her wholly unsuitable for the position.”
The groups asserted that Holyoak has “objected to dozens of sophistication motion settlements involving Google and other firms” during her profession and actively worked to “frustrate any attempts to place limits on their market power.”
Holyoak’s candidacy also faced opposition from a gaggle of 17 progressive groups who highlighted concerns about her work with CEI, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, Holyoak has described the Google settlement she helped to barter as a “tremendous win for consumers.”
In an announcement submitted ahead of her Senate hearing last September, Holyoak also noted she supervised Utah’s participation in other antitrust suits involving Google and Meta.
Despite the lingering concerns, the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted to advance each Holyoak and fellow GOP nominee Andrew Ferguson last October.
Confirmations to the vacant FTC seats depend upon a final vote by the complete Senate, which has yet to occur.
