I would say it's more likely if he had stayed the politics could have stopped it. Now that he quit, he doesn't have the boss's blessing so they are free to pursue.
This is exactly what K street is paid to stop.
This is exactly what K street is paid to stop.
This is actually really important for this community to understand, because a nontrivial # of founders read this. Don't get politically involved to enable bad behaviour -- not only is it wrong, but it won't work. Listen to your lawyers and conscientious objectors, and build a company around good products that people love.