US judge on Google case to sell off mutual funds held by him, his wife that contain Alphabet stock

Judge Amit Mehta in Washington said he learned that some mutual funds held by him and his wife contain Alphabet stock and directed their sale.

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a logo of Google in front of at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo (REUTERS)

The federal judge hearing the US Justice Department's antitrust case against Google said on Friday he directed his financial advisers to immediately sell mutual funds he owns that hold stock of the search engine's parent Alphabet Inc.

Separately, Google said in a brief court filing that it would not ask for the case to be thrown out at an early stage based on procedural issues.

The company said its initial response to the October complaint, which was joined by a dozen state attorneys general, would be filed by February 15.

Judge Amit Mehta in Washington said he learned that some mutual funds held by him and his wife contain Alphabet stock and directed their sale.

Mehta said "neither my wife nor I directed the purchase of these particular funds; they were recommended to us, and we consented to their purchase. Nor did we know at the time that these funds contained Alphabet stock."

He added that he directed financial advisors to monitor all future purchases.

Mehta said he does not believe he is required to recuse himself, but said any objections to him continuing to oversee the case could be filed no later than January 20.

He also is expected to oversee an antitrust lawsuit against Google filed last month by 38 other US states and territories including Colorado and Nebraska.