US antitrust trial targets Google's digital ads, Trump election case shifts DOJ stance on presidential power, US charges top Hamas leaders and more ??
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?? Good morning from The Legal File! Here is the rundown of today's top legal news:
?? US antitrust trial targets Google's digital ad business
Alphabet's Google faces trial in a second antitrust case next week where the U.S. Department of Justice will challenge how the search giant monetizes advertising through a system that prosecutors say harms news publishers.
The case is part of the Biden administration's effort to rein in Big Tech through antitrust law, and follows a major win for the Justice Department in a separate lawsuit on Aug. 5 when a judge found that Google illegally monopolized online search.
While that case focused on Google's ubiquitous search engine, the trial beginning in Alexandria, Virginia will home in on less conspicuous Google technology that connects website publishers and advertisers.
Those advertising tools contributed to the more than 75% of Google's $307.4 billion in revenue last year that came from advertising.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states will seek to show Google broke U.S. antitrust law in its digital advertising businesses. A victory for the states and Justice Department would set the stage for them to ask U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema to order a breakup of the company.
??? Trump election case shifts usual US Justice Dept stance on presidential power
U.S. prosecutors pushing ahead with their case against Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat are also being careful to avoid staking out positions that could limit the power of President Joe Biden or his successors.
The U.S. Justice Department historically has carefully protected the rights of the executive and indeed, three times during Biden's Democratic administration defended his Republican predecessor in civil lawsuits related to his conduct in office.
A revised indictment obtained last week by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, attempts to overcome a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that former presidents are largely immune from criminal prosecution for acts that are part of their official duties by arguing that Trump was primarily acting as a candidate, rather than a president, when he tried to hold onto power.
Trump has previously pleaded not guilty to four charges accusing him of a multi-part conspiracy to block the collection and certification of the election results. He argues this case and others he faces are politically-motivated attempts to prevent him from returning to power.
?? US charges Hamas leaders over Oct. 7 attack on Israel
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The United States announced criminal charges against Hamas' top leaders over their roles in planning, supporting and perpetrating the deadly Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.
The charges against Yahya Sinwar, the militant group's chief, and at least five others accuse them of orchestrating the Oct. 7 attack, which killed 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans.
That attack triggered an Israeli assault on Gaza that has killed more than 40,800 Palestinians and laid waste to much of the territory.
The complaint names six defendants, three of whom are deceased. The living defendants are Sinwar, who is believed to be in hiding in Gaza; Khaled Meshaal, who is based in Doha and heads the group's diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon.
The deceased defendants are former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who the group says was assassinated in July in Tehran; military wing chief Mohammed Deif, who Israel says it killed in a July airstrike; and Marwan Issa, a deputy military commander who Israel said it killed in a March strike.
U.S. prosecutors brought charges against the six men in February, but kept the complaint under seal in hopes of capturing Haniyeh, according to a Justice Department official.
?? Pratt & Whitney settles engineers' no-poach lawsuit for $33 million
Aerospace giant RTX’s Pratt & Whitney unit has agreed to pay $33 million to resolve a class action claiming it artificially suppressed wages for tens of thousands of current and former engineers.
The company disclosed it had reached a deal in principle in a filing in Connecticut federal court, where lawsuits were filed in 2022 claiming Pratt and five engineering staffing firms violated U.S. antitrust law by agreeing not to poach employees from each other.
The full terms of the deal will be presented to the court in the coming weeks, but a source familiar with the proposal said RTX had agreed to pay $33 million to exit the litigation. The settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge Sarala Nagala.
RTX's Pratt & Whitney, which has denied any wrongdoing, was the remaining defendant in a lawsuit that was a consolidation of related cases. RTX declined to comment.
?? That's all for today, thank you for reading?The Legal File, and have a great day!
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