DOJ Closed Meat Probe Just Before Trump’s Investigation Demand

The US Justice Department closed a years-long antitrust probe into the meatpacking industry during the Covid-19 pandemic just weeks before President Donald Trump demanded a fresh investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump rattled the meat industry late last week by calling for an immediate probe into the pricing practices of the biggest companies, which process, package and distribute meat. The nascent probe of the highly-concentrated industry is poised to focus on the same firms that had just been told they were in the clear following about five years of antitrust scrutiny.

Federal officials formally notified companies recently ...