Donald Trump demands Google face criminal prosecution for search results he claims are biased toward Kamala Harris
Donald Trump said on Friday that he will request “the prosecution” of Google – part of one of the largest companies in the world – when he is returned to power. He complains that Google only spreads ‘bad stories’ about him.
Trump, who has long railed against Big Tech, posted the threat on his Truth Social site, where he also accused the country of promoting only positive stories about rival Kamala Harris.
He offered no further evidence to support his claims.
“It has been determined that Google has illegally used a system to reveal and display only bad stories about Donald J. Trump, some of which were fabricated for this purpose, while at the same time revealing only good stories about Comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump wrote. .
“This is an ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, and hopefully the Department of Justice will prosecute them criminally for this blatant election interference. If not, and subject to the laws of our land, I will request their prosecution, at the maximum level, if I win the election and become President of the United States!”
Although the Justice Department falls within the executive branch, decisions about whether to prosecute companies for alleged criminal activity are typically left to career prosecutors.
On a roll: Donald Trump accused Google of only ‘running bad stories about Donald J. Trump’ and called for the company to face criminal charges
Trump ally Elon Musk, finally backing his efforts and giving him a boost with an interview on his X platform, accused Google of imposing a search ban on Trump after the July assassination attempt.
Musk wrote a message with an image of a search box for “President Donald.” The results, presented by an autocomplete function, returned “Donald Duck” and “President Donald Regan,” but not Trump. The company called it an anomaly.
“Wow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump! Election interference?’ Musk wrote.
The autocomplete function currently returns Trump’s name.
Google, which accounts for the majority of parent company Alphabet’s revenue, has denied manipulating its search results to help a political candidate.
Donald Trump said the company has “illegally employed a system of revealing and showing only bad stories about Donald J. Trump” on a day he attacked rival Kamala Harris at a rally in Michigan
Google has denied manipulating its search to help a candidate
Trump’s threat to go after Google follows another threat earlier this month to prosecute people who “cheated” or engaged in “unconscionable conduct” during the November election.
He accused Democrats of “rampant fraud and deceit” and warned: “If I win, the people who cheated will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
His vows to prosecute rivals or companies perceived to oppose him come in a race in which Trump’s Democratic rivals have flagged his comments justifying “revenge” and calling for retaliation against political opponents.
Trump has also repeatedly railed against federal, state and local prosecutors who targeted him. If elected, he would have the authority to drop special prosecutor Jack Smith’s prosecution against him in connection with Jan. 6.
Trump’s post comes a week after the New York Times posted about a series of attempts by Trump to secure federal prosecution or investigation of political rivals, ranging from former FBI Director James Comey to former Secretary of State John Kerry.