Justice Department antitrust suit against RealPage alleges collusion with landlords
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department and several state attorneys general filed an antitrust suit Friday against RealPage, alleging the real estate software company engaged in a complex collusion scheme with landlords that resulted in higher prices for renters across the country.
The lawsuit is the latest salvo in the Biden administration’s increasingly aggressive efforts to rein in powerful companies who they accuse of using their dominance in the markets to harm consumers.
The Justice Department’s suit, a result of what officials described as a years-long “painstaking” investigation, alleges the company unlawfully conspired with landlords who agreed to share with the company non-public information related to rental rates and lease terms that RealPage then entered into its algorithmic pricing software.
As a result, the lawsuit alleges, the software would generate pricing recommendations for properties based on the non-public information that in the usual course of business would not be part of normally competitive efforts between landlords to attract renters.
While the company has faced civil lawsuits before at the state level over allegations of collusion, officials said the suit appears to be the first federal one of its kind involving such an advanced algorithmic collusion scheme.
“Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “We allege that RealPage’s pricing algorithm enables landlords to share confidential, competitively sensitive information and align their rents.”
The civil complaint against the company quotes extensively from internal documents and testimony from RealPage executives, including one instance where the company allegedly acknowledged how its software benefited landlords’ efforts to maximize prices — describing its software as “a rising tide raises all ships.”
While it’s not immediately clear what the department will ultimately demand of the company if a judge finds its actions violated antitrust laws, the Justice Department said in a release it will seek an order that RealPage cease in its alleged collusion with landlords “and restore competition for the benefit of renters in states across the country.”
RealPage did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit from ABC News.
(WASHINGTON) — Mark Meadows, the one-time chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, is continuing his monthslong effort to move the Fulton County criminal case against him into federal court, asking the Supreme Court in a new appeal to intervene on a lower court’s ruling they claim was “dangerously” wrong.
In a filing, dated Friday, Meadows’ attorneys say the lower court erred when it rejected Meadows’ request to move his case out of state court and into federal court, in part by pointing to the court’s recent landmark ruling granting Trump some immunity for official acts
“Just as immunity protection for former officers is critical to ensuring that current and future officers are not deterred from enthusiastic service, so too is the promise of a federal forum in which to litigate that defense,” the 47-page filing states.
Meadows for months has sought to move his case into federal court based on a law that calls for the removal of criminal proceedings when someone is charged for actions they allegedly took as a federal official acting “under color” of their office.
Both a lower court and appeals court have rejected that claim, with one judge writing that Meadows’ actions charged in the indictment “were taken on behalf of the Trump campaign” and not his official duties.
Now, Meadows has appealed the issue up to the Supreme Court, arguing the appeal court’s ruling that the statute does not apply to former officers “defies statutory text, context, history, and common sense.”
“The decision [of the lower court] is not just wrong, but dangerously so,” Meadows’ attorneys continued, again referencing Trump’s immunity ruling. “The Court should grant review, or at the very least vacate and remand in light of Trump.”
The Fulton County election interference case against Trump and 14 others is largely on pause pending an appeal of the disqualification issue. An appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for December.
Meadows has pleaded not guilty.
The historic Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity referenced by Meadows’ lawyers outlined the boundaries of presidential power, making clear for the first time that former presidents are entitled to absolute immunity for “core” official acts but have no immunity for “unofficial” acts.
(CHICAGO) — Vice President Kamala Harris will set out what Democratic officials are touting as a “bold vision for America’s future” at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week, as her campaign looks to maintain the momentum that has so irked former President Donald Trump.
The Democratic National Convention Committee on Sunday released a list of speakers for the Chicago event, which will run from Monday to Thursday. Each day will have a dedicated theme, bullet-pointing Harris’ presidential pitch to voters.
Primetime speakers will include former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, DNC officials have confirmed to ABC News.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will both speak on Monday night. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will speak on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will give his vice presidential acceptance speech on Wednesday, with Harris taking the stage on Thursday to accept her nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Democratic officials have said that the convention will open on Monday with the theme, “For the people.” Tuesday will be dedicated to “a bold vision for America’s future,” and Wednesday to “a fight for our freedoms.”
Thursday, when Harris takes the stage, will be themed: “For our future.”
ABC News’ Isabella Murray contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ emergence as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination is a historic moment for the United States, as she seems poised to become the first Black woman and Asian American to lead a major party ticket.
The 2024 general election will be the first since 1976 that does not include someone named Bush, Clinton or Biden on the ticket.
Harris quickly garnered support from influential Democrats and raised a record $81 million within 24 hours of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. From Sunday to Tuesday evening, Team Harris raised $126 million since the endorsement.
She is preparing for her most significant moment yet, as she hits the ground running and makes the case for why voters should elect her the next president.
Her story began in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was a first-generation American, born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father who divorced when she was 6 years old.
She attended law school at UC Law San Francisco. She worked her way up the political chain, first as deputy district attorney in Oakland in the 1990s, prosecuting gang violence, drug trafficking and sexual abuse cases. In 2004, she became the first woman to serve as the district attorney in San Francisco. She later became California’s first female and person of color to be elected as attorney general before joining the U.S. Senate in 2017.
Harris gained recognition for her work on the judicial and intelligence committees. She held a strong stance on civil rights and abortion rights, which she questioned future Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh about during his nomination hearing.
Harris ran for president in 2019. Although she was not elected as the Democratic nominee. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in debating Harris in 2019 criticized her, for example, saying there’s no excuse for her record as a prosecutor and she owed an apology to those who suffered under her reign.
Harris oversaw more than 1,900 marijuana convictions in San Francisco, according to previously unreported records, which became a point of criticism. Her critics pointed to her prosecutors appearing to convict people on marijuana charges at a higher rate than her predecessor, based on city data.
After she dropped out of the race in 2019, Biden chose her as his running mate.
Five years later, she now has the opportunity to become president of the United States.
“My biggest thing is making sure that Trump doesn’t get in the White House,” David Brown, a Democratic voter, said in an AP interview. “But I would want to know what her policies are, that’s the big thing for me.”
Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News reporting.
And now speculation is turning to who her running mate would be – with prominent figures in battleground states rising to the top, such as Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“Harris’ team, they’re already talking about picking someone from a potential swing state, somebody who hails from one of these critical states that Harris would need to win the presidency,” said Rachael Bade, a Politico reporter and an ABC News contributor. “They’re trying to figure out a way that she can extend her reach beyond her typical base.”
Other potential running mates for Harris are Governors Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Roy Cooper of North Carolina.
Though a source familiar tells ABC News’ Mary Bruce the pool is roughly 12 people being considered for Harris’ running mate. Harris is expected to make her announcement by Aug. 7.
Without wasting any time, Harris’ team is launching their first campaign ad hammering Republicans over their anti-abortion rights position.
As Harris steps into the spotlight, she will face criticisms of her past — from Republicans over issues like immigration and Democrats wary of her time as a prosecutor.
Biden had tasked Harris with leading diplomatic efforts in 2021 to address the root causes of migration in three Central American countries. The White House has praised her work, but Republicans have strongly criticized her on the immigration issue.
During her first overseas trip as vice president, she advised Guatemalan migrants not to come to the U.S., which drew criticism from immigration advocates.
With the Democratic convention just weeks away in Chicago, Republicans are taking aim at the likely nominee. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance made his first solo campaign appearance Monday and attacked Harris.
“If you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it,” Vance said. “You should feel a sense of gratitude and I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris.”
Vance took another jab at Harris and the Democratic Party at his rally in Virginia Monday evening.
“A couple of elite Democrats got a smoke-filled room and decided to throw Joe Biden overboard,” Vance said. “That is not how it works. That is a threat to democracy.”
Trump has expressed frustration over restarting his campaign now that Biden has exited the race. While Republicans and the Trump campaign used Biden’s age as a problem, with Biden out of the race Trump is now the oldest presidential nominee in history.
Trump himself was once a supporter of Harris. He donated $6,000 to her campaign for reelection as California attorney general, including a $5,000 check.
Both campaigns are gearing up for a fight with only three months left before voters go to the polls.
“We have doors to knock on, we have people to talk to, we have phone calls to make, and we have an election to win,” Harris said Monday in Wilmington, Delaware.