I think there is no way they would claim they are not
under any gag order if they were forced to never confirm
such an order
I've always thought such denials are pointless.
You think everyone at Google knows every secret gag order they're under? Of course not, that would get leaked within minutes.
If I was the NSA I'd find a "patriotic" mid-level or junior employee with the power I wanted to subvert, and give them a gagging order that stopped them telling their boss.
That way the Google PR can honestly say that the CEO and legal team haven't seen or heard of a gagging order.
I think it would be odd then if no one else in the company is aware of the issue that those mid/junior level employees would then leak the information to Bloomberg during an active investigation.
You think everyone at Google knows every secret gag order they're under? Of course not, that would get leaked within minutes.
If I was the NSA I'd find a "patriotic" mid-level or junior employee with the power I wanted to subvert, and give them a gagging order that stopped them telling their boss.
That way the Google PR can honestly say that the CEO and legal team haven't seen or heard of a gagging order.