At Google antitrust trial, documents say one thing. The tech giant's witnesses say different

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The judge who will decide whether Google holds a monopoly over technology that matches buyers and sellers of online advertising must choose whether to believe what Google executives wrote or what they have said on the witness stand.

The Justice Department is wrapping up its antitrust case against Google this week at a federal courtroom in Virginia. The federal government and a coalition of states contend Google has built and maintained a monopoly on the technology used to buy and sell the ads that appear to consumers when they browse the web.

Google counters that the government is improperly focused on a very narrow slice of advertising — essentially the rectangular banner ads that appear on the top and along the right side of a publisher's web page — and that within the broader online advertising market, Google is beset on all sides from competition that includes social media companies and streaming TV services.

Many of the government's key witnesses have been Google managers and executives, who have often sought to disavow what they have written in emails, chats and company presentations.

This was especially true Thursday during the testimony of Jonathan Bellack, a product manager at Google who wrote an email that government lawyers believe is particularly damning.

In 2016, Bellack wrote an email wondering, "Is there a deeper issue with us owning the platform, the exchange, and a huge network? The analogy would be if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE,” the New York Stock Exchange.

For the Justice Department, Bellack's description is almost a perfect summary of its case. It alleges that Google's tech dominates both the market that online publishers use to sell available ad space on their web pages, and the tech used by huge networks of advertisers to buy ad space. Google even dominates the “ad exchanges” that serve as a middleman to match buyer and seller, the lawsuit alleges.

As a result of Google's dominance in all parts of the transaction, Justice alleges the Mountain View, California-based tech giant has shut out competitors and been able to charge exorbitant fees that amount to 36 cents on the dollar for every ad impression that runs through its stack of ad tech.

On the stand Thursday, though, Bellack dismissed his email as “late night, jet-lagged ramblings.” He said he didn't think Google's control of the buy side, the sell side and the middleman was an issue, but was speculating why certain customers were looking for workarounds to Google's technology.

Most of the other current and former Google employees who have testified as government witnesses have similarly rejected their own written words.

Earlier this week, another Google executive, Nirmal Jayaram, spent large parts of his testimony disavowing viewpoints expressed in emails he wrote or articles and presentations he co-authored.

The Justice Department contends, of course, that what the Google employees wrote in real time is a more accurate reflection of reality. And it says there would be even more damning documentary evidence if Google had not systematically deleted many of the internal chats that employees used to discuss business, even after the company was put on notice that it was under investigation.

Testimony has shown that Google implemented a “Communicate with Care” policy in which employees were instructed to add company lawyers to sensitive emails so they could be marked as “privileged” and exempt from disclosure to government regulators.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema called Google's policies on retention of documents “absolutely inappropriate and improper" and something she has taken notice of during the trial, though she has not imposed any kind of specific punishment.

The Virginia trial began Sept. 9, just a month after a judge in the District of Columbia declared Google's core business, its ubiquitous search engine, an illegal monopoly. That trial is still ongoing to determine what remedies, if any, the judge can impose.

The ad tech at question in the Virginia trial does not generate the same kind of revenue for Goggle as its search engine does, but is still believed to generate tens of billions of dollars of revenue annually.

The Virginia trial has been moving at a much quicker pace than the D.C. case. The government has presented witnesses for nine days straight and has nearly concluded its case. The judge has told Google it should expect to begin presenting its own witnesses Friday.

Lawyers and legal assistants leave the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for a lunch break in the Department of Justice's antitrust trial against tech giant Google, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is seen Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

FILE - A sign at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. is shown on Oct. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

At Google antitrust trial, documents say one thing. The tech giant's witnesses say different

At Google antitrust trial, documents say one thing. The tech giant's witnesses say different

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Hezbollah vowed Thursday to keep up daily strikes on Israel despite this week's deadly sabotage of its members' communication devices, and said Israelis displaced from homes near the Lebanon border because of the fighting would not be able to return until the war in Gaza ends.

Hezbollah and Israel launched fresh attacks across the border as Hassan Nasrallah spoke for the first time since the mass bombing of devices in Lebanon and Syria that he described as a “severe blow” — and for which he promised to retaliate.

The two days of attacks targeting thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies have been widely blamed on Israel, heightening fears that 11 months of near-daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel will escalate into all-out war. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks.

During Nasrallah's speech, Hezbollah struck at least four times in northern Israel, and two Israeli soldiers were killed in a strike earlier in the day. Israeli warplanes flew low over Beirut while Nasrallah spoke and broke the sound barrier, scattering birds and prompting people in houses and offices to quickly open windows to prevent them from shattering.

Israel also launched attacks in southern Lebanon on Thursday, saying it struck dozens of missile launchers and other Hezbollah infrastructure, though it was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

In recent weeks, Israeli leaders have stepped-up warnings of a potential larger military operation against Hezbollah, saying they are determined to stop the group’s fire to allow tens of thousands of Israelis to return to homes near the border.

In a Thursday briefing, the Israeli defense minister said Hezbollah would “pay an increasing price” as Israel seeks to make conditions near its border with Lebanon safe enough for residents to return.

“The sequence of our military actions will continue,” he said.

The attack on electronic devices appeared to be the culmination of a monthslong operation by Israel to target as many Hezbollah members as possible all at once — but civilians were also hit. At least 37 people were killed, including two children, and some 3,000 wounded in the explosions Tuesday and Wednesday.

Nasrallah said the group is investigating how the bombings were carried out.

“Yes, we were subjected to a huge and severe blow,” he said. “The enemy crossed all boundaries and red lines,” he said. Pointing to the number of pagers and walkie-talkies, he accused Israel of intending to kill thousands of people at one time. "The enemy will face a severe and fair punishment from where they expect and don’t expect.”

He said Hezbollah will continue its barrages into northern Israel as long as the war in Gaza continues, vowing that Israel will not be able to bring its people back to the border region. “The only way is stop the aggression on the people of Gaza and the West Bank,” he said. "Neither strikes, nor assassinations nor an all-out war will achieve that.”

Earlier Thursday, Hezbollah said it had targeted three Israeli military positions near the border, two of them with drones. Israeli hospitals reported eight people lightly or moderately injured.

Hezbollah says its near daily fire is a show of support for Hamas. Israel’s 11-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza began after its militants led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Israel has responded to Hezbollah’s attacks with strikes in southern Lebanon, and has struck senior figures from the group in the capital Beirut. The exchanges have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents on each side of the border.

Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly pulled back from an all-out war under heavy pressure from the United States, France and other countries.

But in their recent warnings, Israeli leaders have said they are determined to change the status quo dramatically.

Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Gallant said, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.” He made no mention of the exploding devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

He said that after months of fighting Hamas in Gaza, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, Israeli officials said. Israel’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah, though media reported the government has not yet decided whether to launch a major offensive in Lebanon.

Lebanon is still reeling from the deadly device attacks of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The explosions have rattled anxious Lebanese fearing a full-scale war. The Lebanese Army said it has been locating and detonating suspicious pagers and communication devices, while the country’s civil aviation authorities banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all airplanes departing from Beirut’s international airport until further notice.

The attack was likely to severely disrupt Hezbollah’s internal communication as it scrambles to determine safe means to talk to each other. Hezbollah announced the death of five combatants Thursday, but didn’t specify if they were killed in the explosions or on the front lines.

The blasts went off wherever the holders of the pagers or walkie-talkies happened to be in multiple parts of Beirut and eastern and southern Lebanon — in homes and cars, grocery stores and cafes and on the street, even at a funeral for some killed in the bombings, often with family and other bystanders nearby.

Many suffered gaping wounds on their legs, abdomens and faces or were maimed in the hand. Tuesday’s pager blasts killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded some 2,300 others. The following day’s explosion killed 25 and wounded more than 600, Health Minister Firas Abiad said, giving updated figures.

Abiad told reporters that Wednesday’s injuries were more severe than the previous day as walkie-talkies that exploded were bigger than the pagers. He praised Lebanon’s hospitals, saying they had managed to deal with the flood of wounded within hours. “It was an indiscriminate attack. It was a war crime,” he said.

Israelis take cover next to a shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from Lebanon, in Nahariya, northern Israel, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People watch the speech of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on a tv screen as they sit in a cafe in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Hezbollah members carry the coffin of their comrade who was killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during a funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A man mourns during the funeral procession of two Hezbollah members, killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A girl cries during the funeral procession of two Hezbollah members, killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Hezbollah members attend the funeral of two of their comrades who were killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during a funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Police tape cordons off the area as security members and an explosive specialist investigate a suspicious device in Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Hezbollah members carry the coffins of two of their comrades who were killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during a funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A boy cries during the funeral procession of two Hezbollah members in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman holds a picture of a Hezbollah member who was killed on Wednesday when a handheld device exploded, during his funeral procession in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanese soldiers stand guard as their comrades prepare to detonate a walkie-talkie that was found at the parking of the American University Hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

This video grab shows a walkie-talkie that was exploded inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo)

Hezbollah fighters salute as they stand next to the coffins of four victims who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, during their funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mourners carry the coffins of victims who were killed Tuesday after their handheld pagers exploded, during their funeral procession in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)