Antitrust Criminal Investigative Improvements Act

ANTITRUST CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE IMPROVEMENTS ACT

Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate yesterday passed the Antitrust Criminal Investigative Improvements Act of 2005, which represents a significant addition to the Antitrust Division's arsenal for prosecuting criminal violations of the antitrust laws.

In criminal antitrust investigations, it is critical that prosecutors gain access to evidence on the inner workings of the alleged conspiracy. To meet their burden of proof, prosecutors must marshal strong evidence of the participants in the conspiracy, the nature of their participation, and the terms of the illegal agreement. This type of evidence is very difficult to gain without penetrating the inner workings of a conspiracy in action. Currently, the Antitrust Division often has no option but to rely on the cooperation of members of a conspiracy, who are frequently reluctant to come forward to assist the Division in uncovering illegal activities in which they, themselves, have taken part. Without the ability to obtain wiretaps, the Antitrust Division unnecessarily faces a much heavier burden in detecting and preventing these conspiracies.

There is no principled reason for excluding criminal antitrust violations from the list of over 150 predicate offenses for obtaining a wiretap. Offenses, such as wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud are predicate offenses, but up to now, criminal antitrust offenses have not been on the list, despite the fact that their penalties are similar. Criminal antitrust offenses are basically white-collar fraud offenses, and often do much more harm to consumers than other types of fraud offenses. Given the gravity of these crimes, it is time that antitrust violations are added as a predicate offense.

Of course, antitrust prosecutors still will need to meet the ordinary requirements for obtaining wiretap authority to receive court permission to utilize this tool, but it is important that they have that ability. Accordingly, I am very pleased that we have passed this legislation, and hope that the House will act soon to move it, as well.

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