By Frank Parlato for Frank News
Critics of Rep. Zoe Lofgren are calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to probe her unseemly relationships with the tech industry – including the lucrative position that her daughter was offered at Google.
US Representative Zoe Lofgren has a 28-year history of protecting the world’s most prominent money players – Big Tech – and those who invest in its stock.
She has been a member of Congress for 28 years and orchestrated one of the largest redistributions of wealth from consumers and businesses to Big Tech in history.
Her personal and financial connections to the industry are extensive.
For most of her time in Congress, she represented Silicon Valley.
She has consistently prioritized her own interests.
Lofgren, a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, is the mother of Sheila Zoe Lofgren Collins, one of Google’s top and highest-paid lawyers.
In the past decade, many Democratic lawmakers have grown increasingly critical of Big Tech. However, Lofgren has gone against this trend and maintained a consistent record of opposing federal scrutiny of Big Tech, restrictions on Big Tech mergers, self-referencing practices, and data policies.
Big Tech’s Powerful Gatekeeper
Lofgren wields enormous influence in Congress, which she has used to block antitrust legislation of Big Tech. As the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Lofgren helps supervise the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Lofgren has prevented the Democratic Party’s efforts to enact antitrust legislation and conduct congressional investigations.
Additionally, and not surprisingly, Lofgren is a leading member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology – where she can weigh in on items that support her favored Big Tech donors.
She is also the Chair for the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, which includes 43 Democratic members of the House of Representatives from California.
First elected to Congress in 1994, Lofgren has been funneling Big Tech contributions to support other California Democratic candidates since 1996.
Lofgren has cautioned Democrats who are critical of Big Tech, implying that opposing these companies is counterproductive to their interests.
She has warned fellow Democrats that she may stop directing funds from Big Tech to their campaigns if they oppose the industry that contributes to her campaign funds.
Lofgren’s Love for Google
Over time, Lofgren has demonstrated willingness to go to great lengths to protect Big Tech’s interests, particularly those of Google, even when her actions may seem controversial.
In 2009, Rep. Zoe Lofgren expressed support for the Google Books settlement, an agreement that allowed Google to digitize and publish books online without the need for copyright consent. This development stemmed from a class-action suit involving book authors and the Authors Guild, as well as a separate lawsuit by publishers, resulting in a complex settlement that created a new legal framework for book digitization.
During the same period, Cisco Systems Inc. employed Lofgren’s daughter. Cisco has established business collaborations with Google in various technology sectors, such as hybrid cloud services, networking solutions, and security measures.
Two years later, Lofgren backed a proposed tax holiday that would allow Google to bring foreign earnings back to the U.S. at a significantly reduced tax rate of 5.25 percent. This move was seen as crucial for Big Tech companies looking to minimize taxes on overseas intellectual property holdings.
In a show of solidarity with the tech giant in 2012, Lofgren, along with Rep. Anna Eshoo—who also represents a Silicon Valley district, were the only Democrats to oppose an FTC investigation into allegations of Google’s anticompetitive behavior
Ultimately, when FTC investigators leaned toward filing a lawsuit based on their findings, it was reported that Lofgren played a role in derailing the investigation. Following the FTC’s decision to close the probe without initiating legal action, Lofgren publicly praised the decision, aligning herself with the interests of the tech industry.
Tech Stock, Family Connections and Donations
Google reportedly covered travel expenses in 2013 for Stacey Leavandosky, at the time chief of staff for Rep. Zoe Lofgren, to visit its headquarters for discussions on patents, cybersecurity, copyright, innovation. Lofgren’s policy adviser Ricky Le also traveled to Google HQ on the company’s tab within the same timeframe.
In a solitary Democratic stance, Lofgren in 2017 criticized the European Commission’s 2.42 billion euro penalty levied on Google for favoring its own shopping services. She labeled the action an “unfair” targeting of American corporations.
Finance disclosures reveal the millionaire Lofgren holds stock in Apple, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco and Google.
Her daughter Sheila left Cisco and went to work as a high-ranking attorney at Google in 2019.
While Cisco ranks among Lofgren’s most generous campaign contributors, having donated over $300,000, Google/Alphabet surpasses this with contributions totaling over $400,000.
Staffers Transition to Silicon Valley
Lofgren’s legislative staffers have frequently transitioned into prominent positions within Silicon Valley powerhouses.
ZJ Hull, who previously served as a congressional aide and counsel, assumed a role as a senior government affairs official at Apple. David Thomas, once Lofgren’s chief of staff turned his connections into a high paying position representing the Information Technology Industry Council, a body whose membership includes Amazon, Apple, Intel, and Google.
Ricky Le, a former policy adviser known for his trip to Google’s headquarters, took on lobbying responsibilities for ITI. Erik Stallman, who acted as counsel for Lofgren, lobbied for the Internet Association, a trade group representing Big Tech interests, and served as public policy counsel for Google.
Lofgren has stated that her former staffers often receive significantly higher salaries for technology firms than in government roles. This has spurred criticism, who suggests Lofgren trains her staff for positions that cater to the interests of Big Tech.
Lofgren’s Stance on Big Tech and Donations
In 2021, Rep. Zoe Lofgren stood against a series of bipartisan antitrust proposals that sought to curb the power of Big Tech firms such as Google and Facebook.
The following year, Lofgren was among 16 Democrats who voted against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021—an antitrust initiative targeting corporate anti-competitive conduct.
Campaign contributions from tech industry players eclipsed one million dollars for Lofgren, including significant donations from Google, its parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, Cisco, Intuit, the National Venture Capital Association, and Kleiner Perkins. She also received personal contributions from Google’s leading lobbyist, Kent Walker.
In 2022, the House approved a legislative package to enhance the tools available for challenging anti-competitive mergers and empower state attorneys in their jurisdictional authority over antitrust lawsuits. Lofgren actively opposed these measures. Despite her resistance and following the bill’s progression from committee, the congresswoman disparaged the legislative bundle. In that same timeframe, her campaign received substantial support from her benefactors, with Google emerging as the top donor.
Polling indicates that two-thirds of Americans perceive the economic dominance of companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Google as detrimental to the U.S. economy. Still, this influence has favorably impacted Lofgren, her family, and her political career. Critics suggest Lofgren makes her decisions in Congress based on her financial and familial ties to the tech sector.
One would have to be naive to think otherwise.
The only question now is whether this is a federal criminal matter.
