Google Blasts DOJ, Denies Hiding Documents in Antitrust Case

DOJ’s claim that Google is hiding documents is “baseless,” the company argued Thursday before the U.S. District Court in Washington in docket 1:20-cv-03010 (see 2203210054). “Accusing an adversary of engaging in a systematic, bad-faith scheme to falsify and hide documents is a serious matter,” Google attorneys wrote. “A charge of that magnitude should be accompanied by unassailable proof,” and DOJ provided none. The company claimed DOJ misread three slides from internal presentations included with more than 4.5 million documents. With proper context, the slides show legitimate “guidance to Google employees about how to communicate with in-house counsel to request legal advice on subjects with obvious legal implications,” Google said.