By Josh Sisco and Caitlin Oprysko

With help from Daniel Lippman

GOOGLE’S FULL-COURT PRESS: Google is being accused of ethical breaches and using dubious litigation tactics as it faces a barrage of legal challenges seeking to unwind its search engine and advertising empires.

— The accusations include Google allegedly deleting thousands of potentially incriminating internal messages and hiring a powerful, politically connected law firm that formerly represented some of its key antagonists — moves critics say show the lengths to which one of the world’s most powerful companies and political actors will go to fend off an existential threat.

— On Friday, a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., will consider whether the high-powered law firm Paul Weiss can represent Google as it fights Justice Department allegations it illegally monopolized the online advertising market. At the heart of that hearing is a claim Paul Weiss is committing an ethical breach because it recently represented clients that have pushed for the government to crack down on Google.

— The DOJ antitrust head Jonathan Kanter spent four years at Paul Weiss, where he advised companies including Yelp, News Corp. and the newspaper consortium the News Media Alliance in their efforts to push for antitrust investigations and lawsuits targeting Google.

— In May, Google retained attorneys at Paul Weiss, including Karen Dunn, who has successfully defended antitrust threats against companies including Amazon and Apple. Yelp and the NMA have cried foul, arguing that hiring Paul Weiss is unethical and the firm should not now be able to switch sides, especially since they believe it still has access to their confidential information and some attorneys they worked with are still at the firm.

— Paul Weiss contends that it has done no work for Yelp or News Media Alliance since Kanter and his colleague Brandon Kressin left the firm in September 2020, and none of the lawyers currently representing Google have access to Yelp or NMA’s files. (Kressin is currently representing Yelp and NMA at his new law firm.) Furthermore, Yelp and NMA could have sought Paul Weiss’s disqualification months ago, and barring them now, “at this late date would cause severe prejudice to Google.”

— “Our firm’s representation of Google is appropriate in all respects,” a Paul Weiss spokesperson said. Spokespeople for DOJ and Google declined to comment.

— Kanter, a prominent Google critic, is currently recused from the ad tech case because of the involvement of his former employer. He is, though, involved in the other ongoing DOJ antitrust challenge to Google, an ongoing trial targeting the company’s internet search monopoly where the company is represented by a different law firm.

— Google’s opposition to Kanter’s involvement is not limited to his past work at Paul Weiss, and is focused more broadly on his years of work for the company’s opponents. But U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who is presiding over the ad tech case, did not have much sympathy for the tech giant’s claim.

— In a terse, 15-minute hearing on Sept. 15, Brinkema said Google will not be able to argue that the DOJ is doing the biased bidding of Kanter when the case goes to trial, likely early next year. “This is not the kind of horrendous case you are positing,” Brinkema said, while questioning Google’s strategy in making the argument. She said the recusal effort “diverts resources, time and energy that should be focused on the core issues in this case and not on what are essentially ad hominems.”

— And in both the ongoing online search-related trial and a separate case in California, Google is facing allegations that it intentionally deleted thousands of instant messages that potentially include incriminating evidence.

— Earlier this year in the California case over Google’s mobile app store, a judge said the company should be sanctioned. “Several aspects of Google’s conduct are troubling,” U.S. District Court Judge James Donato wrote in an order, in reference to allegations the company destroyed evidence.

Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. What else is going on out there? Drop me a line: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

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DISCORD BUILDS OUT ITS D.C. FOOTPRINT: Online chat platform Discord is stepping up its presence in Washington, tapping a seasoned internet policy hand in Ross LaJeunesse to be the company’s first global head of public policy. LaJeunesse spent much of the past few years as the top lobbyist at the online marketplace Etsy, and before that he was a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine.

— LaJeunesse also spent more than a decade in Google’s international government affairs shop, where he served liaison between the tech giant and Chinese government and worked on election safety and free speech issues and where he claimed he was pushed out for pressing the company to take a harder line on prioritizing human rights and diversity. (Google has denied the accusations.)

— LaJeunesse joins Discord amid a rocky year that saw the platform play a central role in Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira’s alleged leaks of classified documents, and as Washington grapples more broadly with how to confront the spread of misinformation and violent rhetoric online.

— For now, Discord has only one lobbying firm — Monument Advocacy — on retainer, to whom it has paid $270,000 since last year to lobby on privacy and content moderation issues.

AFPM PLAYS IN VIRGINIA LEGISLATIVE RACES: The oil and gas lobbying group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers is getting involved in the fight for control of Virginia’s state legislature, with a seven-figure ad blitz targeting a state electric vehicle rule to try and give Republicans an edge.

— The blitz highlights a law passed in 2021 — when Democrats controlled the governor’s mansion and statehouse — which would have Virginia follow auto emission rules set by California that would require the phase-out of gas-powered car sales by 2035. GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin pledged to repeal the law but was stymied earlier this year. AFPM is looking to boost Youngkin’s margins, in what could end up being a test case of how politically potent the issue is ahead of next year’s federal elections.

— “This flawed plan copied directly from California bureaucrats will hurt consumers by eliminating choices and costing us American jobs,” the group says in a 30-second spot that will run on broadcast and cable TV in the D.C. and Northern Virginia markets.

— The ad buy, which builds on polling by AFPM signaling voter concerns about the law, will also include mailers, radio spots, digital display ads, a text campaign and tele-town halls that argue the EV rule will increase U.S. reliance on China.

KNOWING LEONARD LEO: The latest installment in ProPublica’s stellar reporting on the ethics quandaries facing the Supreme Court homes in on Leonard Leo, who has become the man behind the curtain leading a reshaping of the federal judiciary in conservatives’ vision.

— “Historians and legal experts who have watched Leo’s ascent struggle to name a comparable figure in American jurisprudence,” Andy Kroll, Andrea Bernstein and Ilya Marritz write. “‘I can’t think of anybody who played a role the way he has,’ said Richard Friedman, a law professor and historian at the University of Michigan.”

— “To trace the arc of Leo’s ascent, from his formative years through the execution of his long-range strategy to his plans for the future, ProPublica drew on interviews with more than 100 people who know Leo, worked with him, got funding from him or studied his rise. … Having reshaped the courts, Leo now has grander ambitions. Today, he sees a nation plagued with ills: ‘wokism’ in education, ‘one-sided’ journalism, and ideas like environmental, social and governance, or ESG, policies sweeping corporate America.”

— Mike Lucier is now senior director of government and regulatory affairs at Experian. He was previously senior vice president for financial services at Height Capital Markets and is a Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) alum.

— Lily Moll is now grassroots programming director at the American Conservation Coalition, having been promoted from Southern regional director, per Morning Energy. Hanna Pritchett is now ACC’s grassroots operations director; she previously was Eastern regional director.

— Colette LaForce has joined the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue as its first chief marketing officer.

— AdvaMed has launched a new digital health tech division with Shaye Mandle as its executive director. Mandle previously was president and CEO of the Medical Alley Association. Taha Kass-Hout, chief technology officer of GE Healthcare, has been named chair of the division’s board of directors.

— Katie O’Connor will be director of federal abortion policy at the National Women’s Law Center. She previously was deputy chief counsel at Demand Justice.

— Philippe Etienne is joining Rock Creek Global Advisors as a senior policy adviser based in Paris. He previously was French ambassador to the U.S.

— The National Association of Professional Employer Organizations has named Casey Clark as the association’s next president and CEO. Clark will succeed Pat Cleary, who previously announced his plans to step down at the end of the year, and Clark is currently senior vice president of the American Gaming Association.

— Paige Jones has joined CRD Associates as a senior policy associate. She was previously a health legislative assistant for Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.).

None.

BETTER AMERICA UNDER CONSERVATIVES, INC. (Super PAC)

The First Ask (Hybrid PAC)

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY AND INTEGRITY FOR TENNESSEE (GRIT PAC) (Super PAC)

Varda Space Industries Inc. Political Action Committee (Varda PAC) (PAC)

Volunteer Fire Fighters of America (PAC)

You Gotta Believe (Leadership PAC: Steve Garvey)

Arentfox Schiff LLP: Woodward Pharma Services LLC

Biscayne Strategies, LLC: Dhip Group

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Far Capital Partners LLC

Committee To Protect Health Care: Committee To Protect Health Care

Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Rinnai America Corporation

Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: The Esop Association

Crowell & Moring LLP: Mainspring Energy, Inc.

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Greene County Board Of Commissioners

Filanthropie Consultancy: One Place

Gallant Government & Law Group, LLC: 8X8, Inc.

Gwc Public Affairs LLC: Western Landowners Alliance

Jones Walker, LLP: The American Club

Laura Wood Peterson Consulting, Inc.: Gwc Public Affairs LLC On Behalf Of Western Landowners Alliance

Mcallister & Quinn, LLC: Lycoming College

Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Lithos Carbon

Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

Metanoic Strategies: Smiths Detection Inc.

O’Neil Bradley Consulting LLC: Fmr LLC

Passage Consulting Group LLC: Cobham Satcom

Passage Consulting Group LLC: Fregata Systems, Inc.

Passage Consulting Group LLC: One Stop Systems, Inc.

Squire Patton Boggs: Madison Marquette Realty Services L.P.

Strategies 360: Center For Employment Opportunities Obo Redf

Strategies 360: Thurston County, Washington

The Kpm Group Dc LLC: Sebela Pharmaceuticals

The Vogel Group: Seiu

The Vogel Group: Short-N-Numbers, LLC

Tokyo Electron U.S. Holdings, Inc.: Tokyo Electron U.S. Holdings, Inc.

Troutman Pepper Strategies, LLC (Fkatroutman Sanders Public Affairs Group, LLC): Mural Health

Troutman Pepper Strategies, LLC (Fkatroutman Sanders Public Affairs Group, LLC): Orchard Laboratories

Troutman Pepper Strategies, LLC (Fkatroutman Sanders Public Affairs Group, LLC): Pitts Enterprises, Inc.

Varyag LLC: Kontrolmatik USa

Venable LLP: Govcio, LLC

Williams And Jensen, Pllc: City Of Clanton, Alabama

Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Rayner

Williams And Jensen, Pllc: The University Of Montevallo

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: Blockfi

Blue Star Strategies LLC: Humanity For Freedom

Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: City Of Des Moines

Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Valero Services, Inc.

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Brockway Borough Municipal Authority

Delta Development Group, Inc.: City Of University Place, Washington

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Community Progress Council

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Cranberry Township

Delta Development Group, Inc.: East Whiteland Township

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Lafayette College

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Moon Transportation Authority (Formerly Known As Moon Township)

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Western Reserve Transit Authority

Delta Development Group, Inc.: Ywca Of Lancaster

Holland & Knight LLP: Datamotion, Inc.

Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Cua Opco, LLC

Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Hertz Global

Passage Consulting Group LLC: Climavision

Passage Consulting Group LLC: Maritime Tactical Systems, Inc.

Passage Consulting Group LLC: Space Tango, LLC

Passage Consulting Group LLC: USa Cares

Paul Marcone & Associates, LLC: Genesis At The Crossroads

Pontis Partners, LLC: Valcour LLC On Behalf Of African Mission Healthcare

Robert E Dickinson: Keystone Holdings LLC

S-3 Group: Council For Investor Rights And Corporate Accountability, Inc.

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