Google Empire's political heavyweights

Orrin Hatch is so mired in the political swamp that reading his name in an article always grabs my attention.

A joint letter from two US government committees said that the way the EU is targeting US technology companies raised questions about its commitment to open markets.

"This and similar proposals build walls rather than bridges [and] do not appear to give full consideration to the negative effect such policies may have on the broader US-EU trade relationship," wrote senators Ron Wyden and Orrin Hatch and congressmen Dave Camo and Sander Levin.

BBC

The EU knows it can't really affect Google but they want to send a message. Or try to at least.
What got me was Hatch and Co.s not so veiled threat. Is it significant or just political smokeblowing? What's his interest in going to bat for Google?

Meanwhile trade body Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said that the "increased politicisation" of the Google competition investigation was "deeply troubling".

Indeed.