PRIME TIME FIGHT
AT&T chief: Politics fuel DOJ’s effort to block merger with Time Warner
AT&T will try to use President Trump’s criticisms of CNN as proof the Department of Justice’s lawsuit aimed at blocking the merger between the telecom giant and Time Warner Cable is politically motivated, the company’s CEO said yesterday during an appearance in Boston.
“The president, who is not the biggest fan of CNN, expressed his objections to the deal, very publicly,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said. “That’s an elephant in the room.”
During his address at the Boston College Carroll School of Management’s Chief Executives Club, Stephenson said the man leading the Department of Justice’s case against the merger had publicly said there were likely no antitrust issues while working as a professor at Pepperdine University, a job he held prior to being tapped by Trump for the DOJ post.
“Makan Delrahim ... was asked by the media his views on the deal. He clearly articulated ... he didn’t see any antitrust issues with it,” Stephenson said. “Mr. Delrahim was then hired into the White House after President Trump was put in office, to work as his counsel for a few months, and then was nominated to run the antitrust division, was confirmed and came out after his confirmation and promptly filed suit to block the deal.”
In a court filing earlier this week, lawyers for AT&T said they may call Delrahim as a witness — an unusual move in antitrust lawsuits.
Putting Delrahim on the stand would give him an extra opportunity to make the case against the merger, but would also open him up to questions about whether he or other DOJ officials were instructed by the White House to block the deal.
The DOJ has said the merger between AT&T and Time Warner would limit competition and increase prices for consumers. A trial on the merits and legality of the merger is slated to start later this year.
Stephenson said a vertical merger — where a company acquires a company that is not a direct competitor — hasn’t been successfully challenged in 50 years.
“We do feel good about our case,” he said.
Also yesterday, Stephenson said AT&T is pushing for Congress to take action on net neutrality after the FCC eliminated Obama-era rules barring internet providers from blocking or slowing down customers’ access to websites and services.
“My belief is Congress needs to step up, and they need to take this issue on comprehensively. Thou shalt not block, thou shalt not throttle, accord to statutes written by Congress,” Stephenson said. “Just take all of this on; let’s get one set of rules.”