Google backs out of GOP senator’s fundraiser

Google is backing out of a prescheduled fundraiser Tuesday night for Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who is questioning the search giant over a years-old antitrust probe. 

The fundraiser was scheduled for Tuesday in Palo Alto, Calif., and hosted by a number of technology companies. Lee and others are still planning to attend. 

The search giant pulled out after Lee began seeking answers about meetings the company had with the White House during an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 

{mosads}Lee’s office said it reached out to the company about the fundraiser on Monday out of an abundance of caution. 

The senator’s review is aimed at determining whether Google’s access to the administration played a role in the independent agency’s settlement of the antitrust probe in 2013. The questions follow a series of new reports about the investigation published this month. 

Google has said none of its meetings with the White House during that time concerned the antitrust probe. The White House said it routinely meets with businesses as part of its day-to-day operation.

The fundraiser was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, and the Sunlight Foundation’s Political Party Time posted an invitation to the fundraiser on Tuesday. 

The invitation is from the technology trade group TechNet. The event is also hosted by the eHealth PAC, Cisco ePAC and lobbyist Aleix Jarvis. It is at the law office of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, Calif.

Google’s political action committee did not donate money to Lee’s first election campaign in 2010 but donated $2,500 in 2014, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. 

Recommended donations to Lee’s campaign account Tuesday night range from $500 to $5,400. Lee is up for reelection in 2016.

— This story was updated at 5:41 p.m.

Reception by Sunlight Foundation