The Wall Street Journal reported that S&P escalated its legal battle with the U.S. Justice Department, accusing it of filing its $5 billion lawsuit against S&P in “retaliation” for the company’s downgrade of America’s debt in 2011.

The Journal said S&P’s defense, made in a court filing, shows that the world’s largest credit-rating company is digging in as it fights the Justice Department’s lawsuit, which accused S&P of misrepresenting its rating process in the years before the financial crisis.

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