Google Inc. on Friday criticized the Bush administration’s demand to examine millions of its users’ Internet search requests as a misguided fishing expedition that threatens to ruin the company’s credibility and reveal its closely guarded secrets.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company delivered its indignant critique in a 25-page brief that marked its initial legal response to the U.S. Justice Department’s attempt to force the online search engine leader to comply with a 6-month-old subpoena.