CNN —Google went on the offensive Thursday in a closely watched antitrust case dealing with the tech giant’s digital advertising dominance, questioning the motives of the Justice Department’s top antitrust official. Google’s filing targets Jonathan Kanter, the US assistant attorney general for antitrust, and his widely reported past legal representation of Google-parent Alphabet’s corporate rivals, such as Microsoft, Yelp and News Corp, among others. Google’s attorneys argue that Kanter’s past clients create an ethical conflict and should raise doubts about the US government’s overall lawsuit. They also cited evidence in the case that, prior to joining DOJ, Kanter lobbied in a personal capacity for the agency to pursue an antitrust case against Google. The Biden administration has sought to limit the scope of discovery to prevent Google from gathering evidence about Kanter’s advocacy, according to Thursday’s filing.

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Persons: Jonathan Kanter, Kanter, AAG Kanter, Susan Athey, Athey, Biden, Trump, Leonie Brinkema, Judge Brinkema Organizations: CNN, Google, Microsoft, News Corp, DOJ, Justice, Stanford, Court, Eastern, of, US Locations: Alexandria , Virginia, United States, of Virginia, Manhattan, Virginia