A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general, led by Colorado’s Phil Weiser, is urging a federal court to scrutinize and potentially reject the U.S. Department of Justice’s settlement that cleared Hewlett-Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.
In a letter filed Friday, the AGs argued the court must examine whether the DOJ’s decision was tainted by “undue influence” from politically connected lobbyists. “If… the evidence establishes that it was the product of undue influence, then the court should reject it as against the public interest,” Weiser wrote.
The DOJ initially sued to block the merger in January, shortly after Trump took office, citing antitrust concerns that the deal would leave HPE and Cisco controlling over 70% of the U.S. networking equipment market. But just before trial in June, the DOJ reversed course, dropping its case in exchange for HPE agreeing to license Juniper’s AI technology and divest a unit serving small and mid-sized businesses.
That reversal has fueled controversy. Two DOJ antitrust officials who approved the settlement were later fired, in what sources described as retaliation against division head Gail Slater for resisting political pressure to settle. Former DOJ official Roger Alford, one of those dismissed, later accused leadership of having “perverted justice” to favor HPE.
The AGs want the court to hear testimony from Alford and other DOJ staff, as well as consultants tied to HPE, before finalizing approval. The push sets up another flashpoint in the broader debate over antitrust enforcement and political interference in major tech-sector mergers.