UPDATE The Justice Department is asking AT&T and Time Warner to sell off either DirecTV or Turner Broadcasting, to receive approval of their merger, according to The New York Times.
“If the Justice Department formally makes either demand a requisite for approval, AT&T and Time Warner would almost certainly take the matter to court to challenge the government’s legal basis for blocking their deal,” The New York Times wrote.
“Until now, we’ve never commented on our discussions with the DOJ,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement provided to Ars Technica. “But given DOJ’s statement this afternoon, it’s important to set the record straight. Throughout this process, I have never offered to sell CNN and have no intention of doing so.”
During his campaign, Trump said it was “a deal we will not approve in my administration because it’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.” Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway told CNN that President Trump is not influencing the Department of Justice to block a potential merger between AT&T and Time Warner.
November 10, 2017
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