Top members of Google’s legal team are holding a fundraiser for Kamala Harris on Friday — noting their concerns about conflicts of interest as they face the Biden-Harris Justice Department in a landmark antitrust case targeting the Big Tech giant .
Karen Dunn — the lead plaintiff at the white-shoe law firm Paul Weiss defending Google against charges of orchestrating an alleged monopoly over digital advertising — is listed as a co-chair for the expensive Washington DC shindig.
As The Post reported, Dunn shocked the Beltway last month after she delivered Google’s opening defense in federal court in Virginia — and then scrambled to help Harris in final preparation for her debate against Donald Trump in Philadelphia just hours later. late.
Jeannie Rhee and Bill Isaacson, two other Paul Weiss lawyers who argued Google’s case in the high-stakes trial, are listed as co-hosts. Rhee specifically addressed the cross-examination of news publishers who testified that Google’s tactics had starved their businesses of critical revenue.
The fundraising list is just the latest sign of what critics have described as an overly friendly relationship between the Harris campaign and Big Tech allies that could increase efforts to rein in the industry.
“It’s a conflict of interest if the government is beholden to opposing counsel,” Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Spinning Hand Project, told The Post. “That’s why lawyers should not be allowed to negotiate potential deals with the Department of Justice if they have served as lobbyists, including fundraisers, for that administration.”
Representatives for the Harris campaign and Paul Weiss did not return multiple requests for comment. Google declined to comment.
Tickets for the fundraiser range from $3,300 to $50,000, according to an invitation reviewed by The Post. Co-hosts are expected to contribute at least $25,000, while co-chairs are expected to contribute $50,000.
Attendees will rub elbows with Democratic bigwigs, including former US Attorney General Eric Holder, Uber general counsel and Harris’ brother-in-law Tony West and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, at the reception in Washington DC.
All three have faced scrutiny because of their perceived cronyism toward Big Tech and other corporate interests. Both Holder and West are said to be on the short list of possible candidates for cabinet posts if Harris wins the presidency.
Brendan Benedict, an antitrust litigator at the Benedict Law Group, said the fundraising is a bad look for Harris — who specifically criticized Trump in July for “leaning in on support from billionaires and big corporations” and “trade access in return of campaign contributions” after he reportedly hosted a dinner for oil industry executives at Mar-a-Lago.
“Accepting campaign contributions from Google executives and Google lawyers or attending events hosted by them amid two antitrust lawsuits brought by the DOJ against the company may not violate federal ethics laws, but it could make a voter reasonable to question the integrity of a Harris administration by the standard it set for itself,” Benedict said.
“Consumers and competitors harmed by Google’s conduct do not have the same level of access or the same resources,” he added.
While his name does not appear on the invitation, Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp is a major Democratic donor who established a “Kamala Harris Lawyers Committee” to raise money for her campaign.
Paul Weiss employees contributed $1.54 million to Democratic causes in 2024 alone, according to OpenSecrets data.
The DOJ has a pair of antitrust cases pending against Google with major implications for its bottom line. Closing arguments in the digital advertising case are scheduled for November.
US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google has an illegal monopoly over internet search.
The feds recently revealed they could push for a forced stripping of Google’s Chrome browser, the Google Play app store or its Android operating system after the win, with the judge’s final decision expected next summer.
Critics have previously raised the alarm that tech-friendly advisers close to Harris may be lobbying behind the scenes for leniency toward Google — such as a “slap on the wrist” — rather than a meaningful change in its tactics or even a disruption of the business.
Meanwhile, key Republicans have zeroed in on Dunn’s dual role as a senior Google lawyer and close adviser to Harris.
Last month, a senior Trump campaign adviser called Dunn’s activities “outrageous” and argued that it showed Harris “will never stand up to Big Tech.”
In September. On the 10th, the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee requested a briefing from US Attorney General Merrick Garland on how the DOJ was “working to combat potential conflicts of interest and political bias” regarding with Dunn’s involvement in the Google trial.
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