The horizontal portion of the conspiracy constitutes per
se illegal conduct in that the Publishers Defendants and Apple agreed to raise, fix, stabilize and maintain the retail consumer prices the eBook versions of hardcover best sellers and new releases at artificially high levels.
At the very least, the ClimateGate e-mails revealed unethical and potentially
illegal conduct, so it's not per
se unreasonable for some to think the e-mails could signify something more, and not defamatory to say so.