Big Tech Antitrust Lawyers Raise Harris Fundraising: ‘Trying to Storm the Castle’

High-powered lawyers representing Big Tech clients have co-hosted a series of fundraisers for Kamala Harris’ campaign as the 2024 presidential election approaches — and antitrust watchdogs are crying foul.

Last Thursday, a group of “antitrust lawyers and economists for Harris” held a virtual fundraiser featuring former US Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta. Ticket prices ranged up to $6,600, according to a copy of an invitation obtained by The Post.

Notable co-hosts included Daniel Bitton, a partner at San Francisco-based law firm Axinn, which is defending Google in the Biden-Harris DOJ lawsuit targeting its alleged monopoly over digital advertising.

Other co-chairs included Renata Hesse, who once played down concerns about Google’s monopoly on Internet search; Edith Ramirez, a Democratic former FTC chair who once defended Google-owned YouTube in a children’s privacy lawsuit; and Ethan Glass, who has repped clients like JetBlue against US antitrust complaints.

“This is a group of ‘Big Law’ lawyers who have represented monopolists against the FTC and the DOJ, and they are brazenly trying to storm the citadel after being shut out during the Biden years,” said a Democrat who focuses on antitrust issues. Post office.

The Post reached out to the campaign of Harris, Bitton, Hesse, Ramirez and Glass for comment, but did not hear back.

Earlier this month, The Post reported on conflict-of-interest concerns that arose after several key members of Google’s legal team co-hosted an Oct. 18 fundraiser for Harris in Washington, D.C. — with tickets costing up to $50,000. dollars.

Karen Dunn, a lead litigator at the white-shoe law firm Paul Weiss who infamously led the preparation of Harris’ last debate against Trump on the same day she gave Google’s opening defense in the digital advertising trial, was listed as co-chair.

Dunn’s colleagues Jeannie Rhee and Bill Isaacson also attended the event, which featured appearances by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Uber general counsel and Harris’ brother-in-law Tony West and former U.S. Attorney Acting General, Sally Yates.

Just one day later, longtime Amazon general counsel David Zapolsky co-hosted a fundraiser with top Harris campaign surrogate and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by The Post.

In California, Newsom recently vetoed an AI security bill that had been heavily lobbied by tech venture firm Andreessen Horowitz and trade groups representing Google and Meta. After initially opposing the bill, Amazon-backed artificial intelligence firm Anthropic expressed lukewarm support for the bill after securing amendments.

The offensive is taking place as Big Tech firms face an unprecedented wave of antitrust litigation.

Apple and Google are in the midst of landmark Justice Department antitrust cases, while Amazon and Facebook are currently being sued by the Federal Trade Commission. AI leaders such as chip supplier Nvidia and OpenAI also have the attention of regulators.

“It should be deeply troubling to anyone, Republican or Democrat, who cares about reining in Big Tech monopolies that (the Harris campaign) continues to hold fundraisers with lawyers for Google and other big tech companies,” the executive said. of public affairs Garrett Ventry.

Top regulators appointed by the Biden-Harris administration, including FTC Chairman Lina Khan and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, have faced backlash from Silicon Valley bigwigs for leading a crackdown on prominent firms active in the sectors. of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.

In July, billionaire Reid Hoffman sparked outrage among progressives when he accused Khan of waging “war on American business” and openly called on Harris to fire him if elected. Other Democratic attorneys, including Mark Cuban, have called for Gensler to be forced out.

The backlash has contributed to a surprising shift in Silicon Valley support for Trump — most notably in the form of Elon Musk, who recently declared himself a “dark MAGA” and contributed millions to his campaign.

Harris’ campaign has made clear efforts to secure Silicon Valley, a longtime source of support and large donations for Democrats.

Harris’ top replacements such as Cuban and West have stated publicly and behind closed doors that she would take a more friendly stance toward corporate interests if elected.

Cuban, asked by The Post if he had any idea how a Harris administration would handle Big Tech’s antitrust issues, replied, “I don’t.”

Last week, the Washington Post reported that West and former Treasury official Brian Nelson have told groups of tech executives that they are in “listening mode” during private outreach meetings on Harris’ behalf.

Andreesen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz, who previously expressed support for Trump, reversed course last month by pledging a “significant” donation to Harris. Horowitz said he “had several conversations with Vice President Harris and her team about their potential technology policies, and I’m encouraged by my confidence in her.”

In September, Harris released an economic policy outline that provided arguably the most substantive picture of the policies she would pursue in office.

The 82-page document said a Harris administration would “encourage innovative technologies like artificial intelligence and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors” — but referred to the word “antitrust only once.”

Some antitrust watchdogs previously warned that corporate-friendly advisers in Harris’ orbit could lobby behind the scenes for leniency toward Google — potentially in the form of a “slap on the wrist” rather than a full divestment sought by the feds.

In August, the DOJ won a landmark victory after Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google was a “monopolist” with an illegal stranglehold on the Internet search market. He is expected to decide on remedies by next summer – and the feds have floated a forced sale of Google’s Android software or the Chrome browser as possible fixes.

Meanwhile, closing arguments in the DOJ’s digital advertising antitrust case are expected to conclude in November. Google chief Sundar Pichai has admitted that he expects the company to be involved in antitrust litigation and appeals for “many years”.