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“In light of significant national security concerns, a settlement … serves the interests of the United States by strengthening domestic capabilities and is critical to countering Huawei and China.”
Alford, however, claimed his opposition was about principle, not politics. Speaking at the Tech Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum, he insisted he was simply standing up for the “rule of law against the rule of lobbyists.”
“Today cases are being resolved based on political connections, not the legal merits,” he said, while also blasting members of the Trump administration.
Notably, the event was sponsored by Big Tech giants like Google — companies that have long lobbied against America First trade and security policies.
DOJ Hits Back Hard
The Trump administration wasn’t about to let Alford’s narrative go unchallenged. Officials fired back, comparing him to disgraced former FBI Director James Comey:
He is “the James Comey of antitrust—pursuing blind self-promotion and ego, while ignoring reality.”
A Long History of Pro-China Views
While Alford paints himself as a patriot today, his past tells another story. In 2016, during a speech at Renmin University in Beijing, Alford mocked Trump’s push for a trade war with China, calling it “ludicrous and uninformed.”
He went on to say that his “main concern” in the election was Trump’s tough stance on China, even comparing the president to socialist Democrat Bernie Sanders.
At the time, he sneered that:
“Trump fundamentally distrusts basic tenets of free trade.”
The event itself was hosted by a law school linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
Alford later took a senior role at DOJ’s Antitrust Division, where records show he continued to praise “China’s rising economic power and its prominence in the competition sphere.”
Now Claims To Be Tough On Beijing
In a desperate attempt to salvage his reputation, Alford told the Daily Caller that he has “stood up to China” during his DOJ career.
“In the first Trump Administration, I worked closely with AAG Makan Delrahim to address China’s fundamental due process violations… I also led the Antitrust Division’s challenge of China’s antitrust violations, including the unanimous Supreme Court case of Animal Science Products v. Hebei, 585 U.S. __ (2018). In the second Trump Administration I have led efforts to investigate and challenge China’s antitrust violations.”
He also tried to reassure readers of his loyalty by stressing his “grave concerns about China as a national security threat.”
But the paper trail paints a different picture — one of a DOJ insider who cozied up to Beijing, attacked Trump’s economic policies, and only wrapped himself in MAGA branding when it was convenient.
Bottom Line
The DOJ’s move to fire Alford reveals just how deep the swamp still runs. Here was a man with years of public praise for China, standing in the way of America’s fight against Chinese influence, while pretending to be a populist reformer.
The good news? He’s no longer inside the Trump administration. The bad news? There are plenty more like him waiting to be exposed.
