New Delhi:

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

Vice-President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden are co-headlining a campaign event on Monday (September 2, 2024) in the marquee battleground state of Pennsylvania as Ms. Harris balances presenting herself as “a new way forward” while remaining intensely loyal to Mr. Biden and the policies he has pushed.

The pair will attend Pittsburgh’s Labour Day parade and offer some remarks, the first time the two have shared a speaking slot on the political stage together since the surprising election shakeup that provided a fresh jolt of Democratic enthusiasm to the 2024 election.

Harris’ campaign has said Pennsylvania voters are newly energised since Ms. Harris moved to the top of the ticket six weeks ago, with tens of thousands of new volunteers signed up to canvass for her and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. Ms. Harris’ and Mr. Biden’s appearance at the parade, one of the largest such gatherings in the country, is part of a battleground state blitz with just over two months until Election Day.

Ms. Harris, 59, has sought to appeal to voters by positioning herself as a break from poisonous politics, rejecting the acerbic rhetoric of her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, while looking to move beyond the Mr. Biden era as well. Yet while her delivery may be very different from Mr. Biden’s, Ms. Harris’ agenda is chock-full of the same issues he has championed: capping the cost of prescription drugs, the Affordable Care Act, the economy and helping families afford child care.

“We fight for a future where we build what I call an opportunity economy, so that every American has the opportunity to own a home, start a business and to build wealth and intergenerational wealth. And a future where we lower the cost of living for America,” she said at a recent rally, echoing Mr. Biden’s calls to grow the economy “from the bottom out and the middle up”. Ms. Harris briefly appeared on stage with Mr. Biden after the President delivered his remarks on the opening night of last month’s Democratic National Convention, but the two haven’t shared a microphone at a political event since Mr. Biden himself was running for office. At that time, the campaign was using Ms. Harris mostly as its chief spokeswoman for abortion rights, an issue they believe can help them win in November as restrictions grow and health care worsens for women following the fall of Roe v. Wade.

The pair have appeared at official events and met together at the White House since the ticket—swap.

For more than 3 1/2 years, Ms. Harris has been one of Mr. Biden’s chief validators. Now the tables are turned, as Ms. Harris looks to lean on Mr. Biden — a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania — to help win the potentially decisive state. Mr. Biden, for his part, has laid low since ending his re-election bid. He was last at the White House on Aug. 19 and has since been vacationing in Southern California and Delaware.

But even as she’s taken on the mantle of leading the Democratic Party, Ms. Harris has stood steadfastly at Mr. Biden’s side. In her first sit-down interview of her candidacy, Ms. Harris delivered an impassioned defence of Mr. Biden’s record and ability to do the job, even despite the events of the past two months that ended with her running for the Oval Office and Mr. Biden a lame duck.

The 81-year-old President stepped aside in July following a disastrous debate performance with Trump and a growing chorus within his own party for him to make room for a new generation. Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump will debate on Sept. 10.

“He cares so deeply about the American people. He is so smart and — and loyal to the American people. And I have spent hours upon hours with him, be it in the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,” she said in last week’s interview.

She added of Mr. Trump: “By contrast, the former president has none of that.” Ms. Harris said during the CNN interview that serving with Mr. Biden was “one of the greatest honours of my career”, and she recounted the moment he called to tell her he was stepping down.

“He told me what he had decided to do and… I asked him, ‘Are you sure?’ and he said, ‘Yes’, and that’s how I learned about it.” The Vice-President said she didn’t need to ask Mr. Biden for his support because “he was very clear that he was going to endorse me”. Ms. Harris has also defended the administration’s record on the southern border and immigration, one of the administration’s most persistent and vexing problems. She notes that she was tasked with trying to address the “root causes” in other countries that were driving the border crossings, though Republicans have tagged her as the “border czar”. “We have laws that have to be followed and enforced, that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally, and there should be consequences,” Ms. Harris said.

Although Ms. Harris has appeared more forceful in speaking about the plight of civilians in Gaza, as Israel’s war against Hamas there nears the 11th month mark, the Vice-President has also endorsed Mr. Biden’s efforts to arm Israel and bring about a hostage deal and ceasefire.

Israel said early on Sunday (September 1, 2024) that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages captured during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that ignited the Gaza war, including Israeli—American Hersh Goldberg—Polin. The revelation prompted tens of thousands of Israelis to demonstrate in the streets demanding a ceasefire deal.

Ms. Harris will join Mr. Biden on Monday (September 2, 2024) in the Situation Room to meet with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team to discuss their continuing efforts on a deal that would secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Vice-President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden are co-headlining a campaign event on Monday (September 2, 2024) in the marquee battleground state of Pennsylvania as Ms. Harris balances presenting herself as “a new way forward” while remaining intensely loyal to Mr. Biden and the policies he has pushed.

The pair will attend Pittsburgh’s Labour Day parade and offer some remarks, the first time the two have shared a speaking slot on the political stage together since the surprising election shakeup that provided a fresh jolt of Democratic enthusiasm to the 2024 election.

Harris’ campaign has said Pennsylvania voters are newly energised since Ms. Harris moved to the top of the ticket six weeks ago, with tens of thousands of new volunteers signed up to canvass for her and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. Ms. Harris’ and Mr. Biden’s appearance at the parade, one of the largest such gatherings in the country, is part of a battleground state blitz with just over two months until Election Day.

Ms. Harris, 59, has sought to appeal to voters by positioning herself as a break from poisonous politics, rejecting the acerbic rhetoric of her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, while looking to move beyond the Mr. Biden era as well. Yet while her delivery may be very different from Mr. Biden’s, Ms. Harris’ agenda is chock-full of the same issues he has championed: capping the cost of prescription drugs, the Affordable Care Act, the economy and helping families afford child care.

“We fight for a future where we build what I call an opportunity economy, so that every American has the opportunity to own a home, start a business and to build wealth and intergenerational wealth. And a future where we lower the cost of living for America,” she said at a recent rally, echoing Mr. Biden’s calls to grow the economy “from the bottom out and the middle up”. Ms. Harris briefly appeared on stage with Mr. Biden after the President delivered his remarks on the opening night of last month’s Democratic National Convention, but the two haven’t shared a microphone at a political event since Mr. Biden himself was running for office. At that time, the campaign was using Ms. Harris mostly as its chief spokeswoman for abortion rights, an issue they believe can help them win in November as restrictions grow and health care worsens for women following the fall of Roe v. Wade.

The pair have appeared at official events and met together at the White House since the ticket—swap.

For more than 3 1/2 years, Ms. Harris has been one of Mr. Biden’s chief validators. Now the tables are turned, as Ms. Harris looks to lean on Mr. Biden — a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania — to help win the potentially decisive state. Mr. Biden, for his part, has laid low since ending his re-election bid. He was last at the White House on Aug. 19 and has since been vacationing in Southern California and Delaware.

But even as she’s taken on the mantle of leading the Democratic Party, Ms. Harris has stood steadfastly at Mr. Biden’s side. In her first sit-down interview of her candidacy, Ms. Harris delivered an impassioned defence of Mr. Biden’s record and ability to do the job, even despite the events of the past two months that ended with her running for the Oval Office and Mr. Biden a lame duck.

The 81-year-old President stepped aside in July following a disastrous debate performance with Trump and a growing chorus within his own party for him to make room for a new generation. Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump will debate on Sept. 10.

“He cares so deeply about the American people. He is so smart and — and loyal to the American people. And I have spent hours upon hours with him, be it in the Oval Office or the Situation Room. He has the intelligence, the commitment, and the judgment and disposition that I think the American people rightly deserve in their president,” she said in last week’s interview.

She added of Mr. Trump: “By contrast, the former president has none of that.” Ms. Harris said during the CNN interview that serving with Mr. Biden was “one of the greatest honours of my career”, and she recounted the moment he called to tell her he was stepping down.

“He told me what he had decided to do and… I asked him, ‘Are you sure?’ and he said, ‘Yes’, and that’s how I learned about it.” The Vice-President said she didn’t need to ask Mr. Biden for his support because “he was very clear that he was going to endorse me”. Ms. Harris has also defended the administration’s record on the southern border and immigration, one of the administration’s most persistent and vexing problems. She notes that she was tasked with trying to address the “root causes” in other countries that were driving the border crossings, though Republicans have tagged her as the “border czar”. “We have laws that have to be followed and enforced, that address and deal with people who cross our border illegally, and there should be consequences,” Ms. Harris said.

Although Ms. Harris has appeared more forceful in speaking about the plight of civilians in Gaza, as Israel’s war against Hamas there nears the 11th month mark, the Vice-President has also endorsed Mr. Biden’s efforts to arm Israel and bring about a hostage deal and ceasefire.

Israel said early on Sunday (September 1, 2024) that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages captured during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that ignited the Gaza war, including Israeli—American Hersh Goldberg—Polin. The revelation prompted tens of thousands of Israelis to demonstrate in the streets demanding a ceasefire deal.

Ms. Harris will join Mr. Biden on Monday (September 2, 2024) in the Situation Room to meet with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team to discuss their continuing efforts on a deal that would secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Chicago:

Disappointed Pro-Palestinian activists said Kamala Harris’ speech to close the Democratic convention in Chicago failed to demonstrate any break from the status quo, after a week in which the most divisive issue facing the party was mostly ignored.

Under pressure to respond to critics of US support for Israel’s war in Gaza, the vice president used her Thursday night speech to repeat earlier calls for a ceasefire and a hostages deal. She said she supported Israel’s right to defend itself while also favouring the Palestinian right to self-determination.

Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement that mobilised more than 750,000 voters to protest US policy on Israel, said Harris missed an opportunity to win over those people, many of whom live in battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

“What’s needed in this moment is courageous leadership that breaks from the current approach,” Alawieh told Reuters shortly after Harris formally accepted the party’s nomination.

Uncommitted delegates and their allies had pushed unsuccessfully for a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to address the latest bloodshed in the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which began on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s assault on Hamas-governed Gaza, with the aid of US support, has since killed 40,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, along with displacing nearly its entire 2.3 million population, causing a hunger crisis and flattening almost the entire enclave.

Rima Mohammad, an Uncommitted delegate from Michigan, said the speech added to disappointment over the DNC’s refusal to let a Palestinian speak, and offered nothing to assuage the concerns of her progressive, diverse community in Ann Arbor.

“I’m actually more concerned now,” Mohammad said. “This is just a bad look. You’re going to lose Michigan.”

A campaign spokesperson declined to explain the decision not to schedule a speech by a Palestinian speaker at the DNC. The decision was made by DNC organisers in close consultation with the Harris campaign, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Party insiders fear the Gaza war could cost Harris needed votes in battleground states such as Michigan, which is home to large Muslim and Arab American populations and college campuses that have been the site of Gaza protests.

The convention was held in Chicago, home to the United States’ largest Palestinian community, according to the Arab American Institute.

The DNC faced pro-Palestinian protests each day in Chicago, including thousands of demonstrators on Thursday night ahead of Harris’ speech. Dozens of arrests were made during the week.

Protesters carried banners that read “No Embargo No Vote” and “No Ceasefire No Vote,” while thousands chanted “Ceasefire now,” and “Long live Palestine.”

“Leading with Israel’s right to defend itself in the wake of 40,000 massacred Palestinians is absolutely tone deaf,” said Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC and National Chair of the US Palestinian Community Network, who said Harris simply repeated President Joe Biden’s positions.

“Harris said nothing new,” he said. “We continue to demand that the US and Harris implement an arms embargo and stop sending weapons and all other aid to Israel.”

Mohammad, Alawieh and other Uncommitted delegates spent the previous night on the sidewalk outside the convention to protest the DNC’s rejection of their request for a Palestinian speaker.

They welcomed a call for a ceasefire and the return of hostages by the parents of one US hostage held in Gaza – Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin – on Wednesday night, but said they should also have been given a chance to speak.

Pro-Palestinian protesters and delegates said they were heartened by messages of solidarity from the United Auto Workers union and the Movement for Black Lives, a network of over 150 leaders and organizations. Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said on X it would cease operations after the DNC decision.

Ruwa Romman, a Georgia state legislator and delegate who spent the night outside the DNC, said Uncommitted organizers had negotiated with the Harris campaign for weeks and provided a list of possible speakers, only to be rejected.

Prior to Harris’ remarks, only a handful of speakers even addressed the war, including Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Raphael Warnock, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

One major Harris campaign donor, who requested anonymity to be candid about their private conversations with the campaign, said they worried that without a near-term ceasefire deal and clear statements from Harris about ending the war and protecting civilians, campus protests could flare again when universities resume classes in coming days.

“We need every vote,” the donor said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chicago:

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump set out Friday on the final 10-week sprint to election day, with the Democrat surging after an electrifying speech accepting the Democratic Party nomination.

Less than three weeks before the presidential debate between the US vice president and the Republican ex-president — and only a month before early in-person voting begins – polls show the race for the White House is neck and neck.

The former senator and prosecutor leaves Chicago with the wind in her sails, having outraised Trump and erased the polling leads he was enjoying before she replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket last month.

But Dan Kanninen, battleground director of the Harris campaign, cautioned at a Bloomberg event on the sidelines of the convention that the race “is not fundamentally changed” and still “very, very tight.”

“We have tremendous enthusiasm — I think momentum is on our side — but we now need to do something with it and engage the electorate effectively this fall,” he said.

Harris accepted her party’s presidential nomination on a glitzy final night in Chicago, buoyed by a galaxy of stars, that set the stage for the gruelling run-in to November 5.

Razor thin margins

The 59-year-old Californian has edged ahead by razor-thin margins in polling, reversing what had started to look like a likely Trump victory against Biden before he dramatically pulled out and endorsed Harris.

In just a month, Harris has raised a record-breaking half a billion dollars, enjoying a political honeymoon that shows little sign of ending.

Party leaders have cautioned that headwinds could still buffet the campaign, however.

These include internal protests over US policy on the Israel-Hamas war and possible shifts in polling with the expected withdrawal on Friday of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who may endorse Trump.

The controversial scion of America’s revered Kennedy clan is planning an announcement in Arizona, while Trump is also campaigning in the state, and promising to showcase a “special guest.”

Analysts are mixed on the effect a Kennedy exit would have.

He is polling in the low single digits and his embrace of conspiracy theories has made him a fringe figure.

However, in a very tight race, it is possible that even a few thousand votes in a crucial swing state could ultimately determine who takes the White House.

Democratic heavy hitters, from Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton to vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, have warned that the party could still lose to Trump’s Republicans if complacency creeps in.

“If we see a bad poll — and we will — we’ve got to put down that phone and do something,” the former first lady told the party faithful in Chicago.

Walz, a former school football coach, used a sporting analogy, saying that Democrats were “down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball.”

Reaching for the centre

Trump has largely been singing to the choir, mobilizing his right-wing base with apocalyptic warnings about migrant criminals and painting a dark picture of a country in “decline” that only he can save.

Harris and her Democrats have been reaching toward the centre.

Party strategists spent the week in Chicago showcasing a parade of anti-Trump Republicans, including ex-cabinet officials, a small-town mayor and a former statewide officeholder.

“If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you’re not a Democrat, you’re a patriot,” former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan said.

While they previously characterised Trump as a demagogue, Democrats have instead begun making fun of the Republican nominee in a manner designed to belittle him and dent his aura of invincibility.

Harris called him an “unserious” person.

Harris, who has no events announced for the weekend, heads back to Washington with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff on Friday to begin sketching out a battle plan for the next 70-plus days.

“I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations,” Harris said in her keynote speech, earning uproarious applause.

“A president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense and always fights for the American people.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)