Google’s upcoming adtech antitrust trial suffered a setback today, as evidence emerged that it relied on a policy to avoid retaining messages that relate to the case, the U.S. Department of Justice argued.

Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia considered a motion today from the DOJ seeking an “adverse inference” against Google, a legal maneuver that could tilt the scales in the DOJ’s favor by suggesting that the tech giant intentionally deleted messages about the case.