"CNN is fake news. Fake news. Fake news, okay? And a merger involving CNN? Look, I just can't allow such a deal, okay? And did I mention that CNN is fake news?"
AT&T wants answers about White House's role in blocking Time Warner deal
Los Angeles Times, Feb 14 2018 1:10 PM
AT&T wants to show political tampering as it seeks evidence about whether President Trump influenced the Justice Department's decision to sue to block the company's proposed $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner. AT&T wants communications between the Justice Department and the White House about the Time Warner takeover. It's also looking to put the head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, Makan Delrahim, on the witness stand at trial.
If approved, the deal would reshape the media landscape by uniting a telecom giant with the owner of CNN, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS and HBO. AT&T, the owner of DirecTV, is the largest pay-TV distributor, as well as a powerhouse in mobile phones and landlines. The Justice Department has argued that letting AT&T own the films and TV shows that flow down its pipes would harm consumers and competitors.
AT&T's move attempts to highlight how the White House may have pulled some strings in the first major antitrust action brought by Trump's Justice Department. The lawsuit, which is set to go to trial March 19, has sparked speculation that Trump, a relentless critic of Time Warner's CNN, pushed the department to oppose the deal. The Justice Department sued to block the merger in November, saying it was harmful to consumers. That dealt AT&T a surprising setback to a deal that seemed on track for approval similar to Comcast's prior purchase of NBC Universal.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...214-story.html