Vice President Kamala Harris’ cozy ties to a high-powered lawyer representing Google in an upcoming federal antitrust case are an apparent “conflict of interest,” according to Donald Trump’s campaign.
The Trump campaign attacked Harris just days after The Post reported on her close ties to the white-shoe law firm Paul Weiss and its chief litigator Karen Dunn, who plays a leading role on Google’s outside defense team. in the Justice Department’s Biden-Harris case targeting him. digital advertising business.
Google’s trial is scheduled to begin Monday — just one day before Harris and Trump are scheduled to face off in a crucial presidential debate.
According to reports, Dunn has assisted Harris with debate preparation and helped craft her policy platform ahead of the 2024 election.
“Kamala Harris will never stand up to Big Tech because she’s being coached on what to say in debates by Google’s top lawyer,” senior Trump campaign adviser Tim Murtaugh told Fox News. “Think how outrageous that is — their administration is suing Google, but Harris is getting political advice from the defendant’s lawyer.”
“Every first-year law student knows this is a conflict of interest,” Murtaugh said in an Aug. 26 interview. “But it’s not surprising because Big Tech and the Biden-Harris White House have conspired to censor and violate the rights of law-abiding citizens since they took office.”
The Post has reached out to the Harris campaign and Paul Weiss for comment.
Google faces a possible breakup of its empire after a federal judge ruled last month that the company is a “monopolist” that illegally dominates the Internet search market.
The feds are similarly seeking a split on the digital advertising issue.
Google’s defense got off to a rocky start last week after the federal judge overseeing the non-jury trial called the companies’ automatic deletion of employee chat logs a “clear abuse of privilege.”
Some antitrust watchdogs have expressed concerns that tech-friendly advisers in Harris’ orbit could push behind the scenes for leniency for Google and other Big Tech firms questioned by antitrust cops.
“Karen Dunn is being paid extravagantly by Google to get rid of them – ideally through a slap on the wrist settlement – so it’s troubling that she has so much access to VP Harris … and their teams, ” one from Capitol Hill. The veteran, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, told The Post last month.
In addition to Dunn, Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp is reportedly leading a “Kamala Harris Lawyers Committee” effort to raise money for her campaign.
Other Harris advisers who have come under scrutiny include former US Attorney General Eric Holder and her brother-in-law and Uber general counsel Tony West, each of whom are seen as Silicon allies. Valley.
If she is elected president, Harris would have broad discretion to appoint officials to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.
Harris has championed controversial plans to lower food prices and housing costs — but has yet to clarify her stance on Big Tech monopolies.
Meanwhile, Trump has publicly ripped Google on several occasions during his campaign — most notably accusing the search giant of suppressing information about the assassination attempt he survived in July.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has demanded answers from Google about why the company’s search engine removed the typical “autocomplete” list of suggested results when asked about the July 13 shooting on its search bar. of research.
Google has denied the omissions were due to censorship and said predictive queries are subject to “built-in protections related to political violence” that were out of date shortly after the shooting.
Trump’s DOJ first brought the antitrust case targeting Google’s search monopoly in 2020.
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