The Justice Department launched an antitrust violations investigation into last year’s deal between California and four major automakers. Now, POLITICO’s Alex Guillen and Leah Nylen are reporting that a top DOJ official says the investigation was motivated by the president’s ongoing fight with California. Kelsey Tamborrino is a Politico Energy reporter. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of Politico's audio department. Jenny Ament is the senior producer of Politico's audio department. Carlos Prieto is a Politico podcast producer.