Apple’s Cook, Gore Should Face E-Book Queries, U.S. Says

Apple faces opposition from the Department of Justice in the company’s bid to block an antitrust monitor appointed in the electronic books price-fixing case from interviewing top executives and directors, including chief executive officer Tim Cook and board member Al Gore.

The government said the monitor, former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich, should be allowed to interview the company’s leaders, as such activities are “standard procedure in monitorships,” according to a filing in Manhattan federal court. Bromwich was appointed in October by US District Judge Denise Cote to evaluate Apple’s antitrust compliance policies. Apple said in court papers filed in November that the monitor was operating in an “unfettered an inappropriate manner,” and was overstepping his authority by pressing for immediate interviews with senior management. “Stripped of its blustery rhetoric and personal attacks, Apple’s motion is about its desire to shield its highest-level executives and board members from the perceived inconvenience of having to sit for these interviews,” Justice Department lawyers said. Apple’s claim that Bromwich’s request would result in loss of market share growth at the world’s biggest technology company is “wholly unbelievable,” the US lawyers said.

[Dec 31]