As US Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to take the stage against former President Donald Trump in her White House bid in November, her secret weapon seems to be a high-powered lawyer with a surprising side gig - defending Google in a landmark antitrust trial that could reshape the tech giant's future.
Karen Dunn, a partner at the prestigious Paul, Weiss law firm, has been tapped by Harris to coach her for her campaign. Dunn had allegedly prepared Harris for her first debate of the 2024 US elections, against Trump. But while Dunn is busy prepping the VP for the debate, she's also leading Google's defense in a blockbuster case brought by the Joe Biden administration alleging the company illegally monopolized the online advertising market.
Dunn's dual roles have raised eyebrows among antitrust experts who worry her close ties to the Harris camp could undermine the government's aggressive pursuit of Google. They argue it's an "outrageous" conflict of interest for the Vice President to be taking advice from a lawyer representing a company her own administration is suing.
"It's clear that you can't serve both sides," said Matt Stoller of the American Economic Liberties Project to the New York Times. "If these were legal cases, she would be ethically barred from doing what she's doing," he said.
Dunn, who has prepped Democratic candidates for debates since 2008, delivered Google's opening statement in the high-stakes trial on Monday, September 9, two days prior to the most anticipated presidential debate ahead of the US polls, since Biden quit the presidential race. Hours later, on the very same day, Dunn rushed out of the Virginia courtroom to join Harris' team in Pittsburgh as they put the finishing touches on her debate prep.
The 48-year-old litigator is no stranger to the revolving door between Big Law and Democratic politics. She started as a legislative correspondent on Capitol Hill for Representative Nita Lowey of New York. She was next hired as the second employee on Hilary Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign in 1999, with whom she worked during and after the September 11 terrorist attacks as well. She then briefly left politics to attend Yale Law School. But, by 2008, she was back to working on the presidential campaign with Clinton, and then later, with Barrack Obama.
"It's a combination of tough love," said Hillary Clinton of Karen Dunn in an interview earlier this month. "She is someone who as a lawyer sweats the details, but she has an ability in her communications work to see the big picture, and that's really a rare quality," Clinton added.
Dunn's represented tech giants such as Apple and Uber and even helped prepare Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for a congressional hearing. In 2021, she won a landmark lawsuit against organizers of the 2017 Charlottesville far-right rally.
But Dunn's current juggling act may be her most high-profile yet. As she argues Google's case in court, her advice to Harris had an instrumental role in shaping the outcome of a debate that has been pivotal in the 2024 race. And with the Department Of Justice seeking a breakup of Google's ad business, the stakes couldn't be higher.
"One imagines her stature in Harris' world has only gone up after the debate - which could be concerning if she's ever negotiating a potential settlement with the Justice Department under Harris," said Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project.
The Republicans have already seized on the controversy, with a top Trump adviser blasting it as proof Harris will "never stand up to Big Tech." House Republicans are demanding answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland on how he's combating potential conflicts of interest.
Neither Google nor the Harris campaign have commented on the issue so far.
As of now, Dunn shows no signs of slowing down. As she told the New York Times in 2019, the key to a winning debate moment is engaging your opponent in a way that challenges them, and then creating a winning moment, preferably at the expense of someone else. With her dual roles, Dunn's on the verge of challenging the boundaries of what's acceptable in the world of high-stakes politics and la
