Appeals court has harsh words for Apple and DOJ in fight over antitrust monitor

A three-judge panel rebuked lawyers for Apple and the federal government, as the two sides argued over what to do about a court-appointed monitor that Apple claims is running an unconstitutional investigation into the company’s business practices.

Apple complained that Michael Bromwich, who has no experience in antitrust law, has already billed Apple over $130,000 to investigate the company, and that he has made premature demands to meet with everyone from lead designer Jony Ive to former US Vice President Al Gore, who sits on Apple’s board. The government countered that Apple does not want to comply with the law. In hearing arguments from Apple and the Justice Department, the judges expressed skepticism for both sides’ positions, and hinted they may issue an order to spell out the duties of the monitor. More broadly, the fight over the monitor is the latest twist in Apple’s ongoing effort to challenge a federal judge’s ruling last fall that it organized a conspiracy with publishers to fix the price of e-prices.