As if there was ever any doubt about
the outcome of this one:
Less than a month after Oracle Corp. hired former Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft's lobbying firm, the Justice Department notified Oracle that an antitrust inquiry into its proposed $5.8 billion acquisition of a rival database software firm had been dropped.
The decision, announced Tuesday by the department, was no doubt welcome news for Ashcroft's budding lobbying and consulting career that began last May, just three months after he ended a tumultuous tenure as the nation's top law-enforcement officer.
Gotta give the man his props: he might not be able to win an
election against a dead man, but can he ever get it done when he lobbies the people he appointed. I can see him now, sitting with
Larry Ellison in one of the sumptuous salons of the
Rising Sun, sipping Cristal, while ole John promises to get Oracle out of this little jam: "Larry, don't worry about a thing. I gave
all these people their jobs. Just give me a little swag to flash when I talk to them. Then they'll get the idea: play ball now and you'll get the call when you leave government."
When you think about it, Mr. Ashcroft has a very bright future for the next three years. I imagine there could be quite a few tie-ins between his beloved Patriot Act and any number of corporations who have decided to pick up the privacy envelope and push it as far as the Justice Department will let them--and then keep pushing. Information will always be the most valuable commodity:
Ashcroft encouraged greater government scrutiny of personal information in massive databases available in the private marketplace. Such databases are built by firms such as Oracle, and filled by companies like ChoicePoint, another client of the Ashcroft firm. He was also a champion of the Patriot Act, a law that created a wide range of new government powers in the name of countering terrorism.
When the eagle flies indeed! How about singing "when the eagle screams.." for us, John?