By William K. Black
July 22, 2018 Bloomington, MN
Trump’s language problems do not end with his double negatives and his endless contradictions of what he has just said or tweeted about Putin’s assault on our democracy. Trump lies about everything, all the time. His lies, however, frequently reveal the greater truth – he lives to betray America, his responsibilities as President, and his base. One classic example is the illegal abuse of monopoly power used against Americans and people globally. Trump has managed to embrace, contemporaneously, polar views on monopoly power – and both views are wrong. That takes some doing. One would think that taking opposite views would help you be right half the time.
Under United States law, the intentional abuse of monopoly power is both illegal and criminal. Our Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can bring civil suits to stop the abuse and penalize it – including treble damages and orders to reduce greatly the monopoly power. DOJ can also bring a criminal prosecution. In the European Union (EU), such monopoly power abuses are generally only subject to civil sanctions and orders to reduce monopoly power. (Some EU nations criminalize “hardcore” cartel actions.) DOJ can prosecute either, or both, the firm and the officers involved in abusing the monopoly power. EU nations often do not permit prosecutions of the firm even for cartels.
