[caption id="attachment_16194" align="alignnone" width="620"]
U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C. Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM.[/caption] Washington Wrap is a weekly look at the biggest legal industry news and Big Law moves shaping the legal business in Washington, D.C. Send tips and lateral moves to Ryan Lovelace at rlovelace@alm.com. Leading antitrust legal practitioners are increasingly on the move in Washington in 2018, at a time when President Donald Trump is calling attention to their work. Last Friday, the self-appointed ombudsman-in-chief tweeted that the “Fake News Media” had failed to properly cover the U.S. Department of Justice's scrutiny of the proposed AT&T/Time Warner merger. Meanwhile Rudy Giuliani, the Trump private legal team’s mascot and omnipresent cable news personality, added to confusion over the administration's stance when he said the president had "denied" the deal, and then walked back his statements. Less objectionable to Trump, but perhaps just as consequential to the work and perception of the Antitrust Division, is news of the antitrust lawyers who have recently left the DOJ or are flying their flag at new firms across town. Former Justice Department lawyer Ryan Kantor moved to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius this week after a decade in government that culminated in his work as assistant chief of the health care and consumer products section of the Antitrust Division. Kantor left the Justice Department at the end of April and said he thought now was the right time for him to return to private practice. At Morgan Lewis, Kantor is helping to fill a void created by two partners and a counsel who decamped for Vinson & Elkins in February and April of this year. Kantor’s exit from the Justice Department comes on the heels of Eric Mahr, former Justice Department antitrust litigation chief who left government in November 2017, joining Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in February 2018. Activity in the antitrust realm elsewhere in Washington has not slowed either. Reed Smith lured Ed Schwartz to co-chair its antitrust and competition team this week from Steptoe & Johnson, where Schwartz was the antitrust practice group leader. Law Firm Moves, News and Notes: Robert Bauer, former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, has departed Perkins Coie after more than 35 years at the firm. Bauer is planning to devote more time to his academic work, teaching and writing at New York University, while also retaining some clients on an individual basis, such as remaining personal counsel to Obama. The Seattle-based Perkins Coie’s political law practice, which Bauer founded at the firm in 1980, has made the firm a prominent player in Washington. The political law team has been led since 2009 by Marc Elias, who was counsel of record for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. Talking to the NLJ this week, Bauer weighed on the current debate over whether Trump can be indicted if prosecutors determine such a move is warranted. “I believe the better view is that he can be [indicted],” Bauer said. Bauer noted Giuliani’s recent comments suggesting special counsel Robert Mueller’s team did not share the view Trump could be indicted. Bauer added that Giuliani, “hasn’t exactly been steady on his feet,” but said he takes the former U.S. attorney and New York City mayor at his word.