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Welcome back to The Rainmaker, my private newsletter focused on the legal intrigues of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Washington, and Wall Street.
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The Rainmaker

Happy Monday, I’m Eriq Gardner.

Welcome back to The Rainmaker, my private newsletter that’s focused on legal maneuvering inside Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Washington, and Wall Street.

The ongoing tech market collapse isn’t the only headache for Silicon Valley. In today’s email, fresh news and reporting on Apple’s N.F.L. subpoena, Sundar Pichai’s “incognito mode” problem, Google’s legal bills, Amy Klobuchar’s antitrust progress, and Facebook’s courtroom battle with Israeli spies.

But first…

Depp’s Lawyers vs. Fox News
Murdochworld is still basking in the afterglow of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial, which was hyped on Fox News like a culture war title match. Many of the network’s personalities embraced Depp as a sort of victim of #MeToo, and celebrated the verdict as vindication for the falsely accused.

But the next act for Depp’s legal team, Brown Rudnick partners Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, is sure to generate a lot less love from Fox Nation. In fact, the legal pair are now hoping to bring Fox News itself to trial over what they allege was a “concerted, fraudulent effort to overturn the demonstrable and irrefutable fact that Donald Trump had lost the election” that included “fabricated charges” that aired on Fox News.

The plaintiff in this case is a Venezuelan businessman named Majed Khalil, who was mentioned ever-so-briefly by former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell on the Dec. 10, 2020 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight. At the time, Powell was exploring the history of voting tech companies Dominion and Smartmatic (both of whom are also suing Fox News). Powell’s theory held that the election had been stolen from Trump by vote-flipping machinery created for the benefit of the late Hugo Chavez. On this particular broadcast, Khalil was noted in passing as a name “you need to know,” along with three others. For the quick mention of Khalil’s name in the Powell interview, plus some social media promotion by Dobbs, Khalil is demanding $250 million in damages...

P.S. As a reminder, you're receiving the free version of The Rainmaker at . For full access to Puck, and to each of my colleagues, you can subscribe here.

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David Boies’ Multi-Million Dollar Bet Against Google
David Boies’ Multi-Million Dollar Bet Against Google
A group of super-elite law firms just won a head-turning victory as part of a lawsuit alleging that Google’s “incognito” mode is anything but. Is the payday worth the billable hours?
ERIQ GARDNER ERIQ GARDNER
When Google C.E.O. Sundar Pichai appeared on Capitol Hill in 2018, as part of a congressional inquisition of tech leaders, it was easy to poke fun at the spectacle. Lawmakers had clearly planned to knock Silicon Valley elites down a few pegs, but they lacked the vocabulary to land the big Perry Mason moment. And so we got comical episodes like when Rep. Ted Poe held up his phone and said, “If I move from here and go over there… does Google know that I moved to the left?” Pichai tried to explain that it depends on settings and apps opened, which caused the frustrated Texas Republican to blurt out, “It’s not a trick question!” Other times, Pichai was able to effectively parry the questions with feel-good bromides: “It’s really important to us for average consumers to understand [the information collected by Google]. We remind users to do a privacy checkup. And we make it obvious.”

Video footage of Pichai’s congressional testimony may play differently if ever shown to a jury. That could happen in a case that centers on how Google collects and uses data from those who have turned on the private “Incognito” mode on the company’s Chrome web browser. The plaintiffs estimate billions of dollars in damages from the interception of private browsing information that includes sexual interests and political views, and thanks to a judge’s recent order sanctioning Google for discovery misconduct, the tech giant may find it more difficult to defeat the suit. In fact, because of this rather extraordinary sanctioning, should the case get to trial, the jury could hear about Google’s efforts to hide key witnesses and evidence.

But let’s be honest, the good class actions tend to settle. This one in particular has the potential to be very good (Texas even brought a copycat lawsuit last month), so before it maybe goes away quietly, let me share what’s been happening—and what could happen next...

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FOUR STORIES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
J.J.'s Warner Welcome
J.J.'s Warner Welcome
Will Abrams become a casualty of Zaslav's new cost consciousness?
MATTHEW BELLONI
The Jan. 6 Mega Producer
The Jan. 6 Mega Producer
Disaffected donors, Garland's Jan. 6 stoicism, and other rumblings around the Capitol.
TARA PALMERI
Elon vs. The Arbs
Elon vs. The Arbs
The arbitrageurs might be the most vulnerable players in Elon's off-the-rails Twitter takeover.
WILLIAM D. COHAN
WaPo Aftermath & Trump's Sources
WaPo Aftermath & Trump's Sources
Jon Kelly and Peter discuss the WaPo contretemps and dissect the Jan 6th committee.
PETER HAMBY
swash divider

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