Overview

• At an Aspen forum, Roger Alford accused AG Pam Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle and associate attorney general nominee Stanley Woodward of "perverting justice" in the settlement of the HPE–Juniper antitrust case.
• The Justice Department rebutted Alford’s claims with a sharp statement comparing him to James Comey, and HPE said allegations of improper influence were false.
• DOJ sued to block the $14 billion merger in January before announcing a June deal requiring an HPE divestiture and Juniper software licensing, which CBS reported was approved after Mizelle overruled antitrust chief Gail Slater.
• HPE disclosures show the company hired Trump-aligned influencers Mike Davis and Arthur Schwartz to advocate for the deal, as Alford and merger chief Bill Rinner were dismissed in July for insubordination.
• The consent decree is undergoing Tunney Act review, and several Senate Democrats have requested a DOJ inspector general investigation into potential politicization of merger analyses.