Antitrust Chief Barred From Google Cases Amid Recusal Push (1)

The Justice Department’s top antitrust official has been barred from working on monopoly investigations of Alphabet Inc.’s Google as the department wrestles with whether he must recuse himself because of his previous work for the search giant’s rivals, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jonathan Kanter, a longtime advocate for antitrust enforcement against Google, was brought in by the Biden administration to tackle difficult antitrust investigations into tech giants like Google and Apple Inc. that began under former President Donald Trump.

Jonathan Kanter

Photographer: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg

In November, Google urged the Justice Department to review whether Kanter should be recused ...