US Sues To Block AT&T Purchase of Time Warner (reuters.com)

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing AT&T to block its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner. "The legal challenge was expected after AT&T rejected a demand by the Justice Department earlier this month to divest its DirecTV unit or Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting -- which contains news network CNN -- in order to win antitrust approval," reports Reuters. From the report: AT&T's chief executive said then that he would defend the deal in court to win approval, and the company criticized the Justice Department's case on Monday. The lawsuit is "a radical and inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust precedent," said AT&T lawyer David McAtee, arguing that so-called vertical mergers, between companies that are not direct competitors, are routinely approved. "We see no legitimate reason for our merger to be treated differently," he said, adding that AT&T is confident a judge will reject the Justice Department's case.

Comments

Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

The FCC hasn't got the memo apparently, but this merger WILL happen.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Kernel Kurtz]

You figure he is a CNN fan?

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Somebody's confused. FCC & Justice are separate entities....

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

ATTTW will MAGA!

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

... In the same wig-lead administration. Last month the FCC made a threat of this exactly and now DOJ is backing it up. Somebody's confused.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Mashiki]

The FCC hasn't got the memo apparently, but this merger WILL happen.

Doubtful. Read what Trump has written in the past and you'll see he's against mass-centralization of media. The fact that the DOJ is coming out against this should also tell you the way it's blowing, on top of that individual US states are starting antitrust investigations against the big name tech companies(google/facebook/twitter/etc). Their little song and dance on the hill didn't make republicans any happier with what they said, then the democrats who were also sitting on that hearing. Both were equally pissed off at the way they refused to clearly answer any questions on the basis of being neutral.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Trump's "opinion" on such things is about as mercurial and illiterate as his opinion on abortion, deficits, war, or anything else. If he sees profit in reversing himself entirely 5 times in a row, guess what he'll do.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Trump's "opinion" on such things is about as mercurial and illiterate as his opinion on abortion, deficits, war, or anything else.

You could have just said, "I don't have a clue about what I'm talking about." And saved everyone else some time.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the GP is bang on the money.

I mean, seriously, look at his opinion on abortion, where he has gone from not liking it but believing it should be legal (like most sensible humans), to offering an extreme parody of the Republican platform (women should be punished!) in order to get elected.

And on war: I mean, seriously. He's against foreign conflicts -- America First, let's not get involved in other people's conflicts -- until bombing an airfield makes him look presidential. And in the few months since he got elected, the US has grown its foreign military presence by a third.

Read something. And save everyone else some time.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually it's you that is clueless. Trump has done, or attempted to do, exactly the platform that he ran on. And as for profiting from politics, that's a clinton thing.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Read what Trump has written in the past ...

Written? By Trump? When?

He didn't even write Art of the Deal. Hell, nobody is sure he ever read it.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[ShanghaiBill]

Read what Trump has written in the past and you'll see he's against mass-centralization of media.

Since when have Trump's past statements accurately predicted his future actions?

“I know Hillary and I think she’d make a great president" -- Donald Trump, 2008

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

you mean Trump has no clue or OP has? If it's Trump I agree. Just parse his tweets on any topic over a period of 6 months.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

+1.
His current vocabulary make writing this book pretty much the job of the ghost writer. I would wager that he'll fail in a spelling test from words out of the book.

Re: Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. The Party approves. We strive to have ONE powerful news organization in our glorious nation.

Re: Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well Trump was right about that. I mean, have you seen the grifter who is President now?

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

You think Trump's businesses haven't been affected (or publicly advertised in state functions, say) by his 0-accomplishment presidency? Wait a while. Mueller is still building Trump's personal Hell.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

0 accomplishment? So I just have to provide one thing he accomplished to prove you wrong? Ok.

1. US not joining TPP. He said it, he did it.

Captcha: tiresome. As in, the idiocy from the deep state's stooges is tiresome.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

The DoJ hasn't blocked a vertical merger in over 40 years. Makan Delrahim, who runs the anti-trust division, had no problems with the merger until Trump took office. The law is on AT&T's side.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Then why is his FCC nominee is actively gutting regulations to let Sinclair take gain a near monopoly over local TV stations? The same Sinclair that recently hired one of Trump's senior advisers to to be their Chief Political Analyst.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[PopeRatzo]

Read what Trump has written in the past and you'll see he's against mass-centralization of media.

If you have any evidence or citation that Donald Trump has ever written anything other than his name or tweets, I invite you to bring it forward here.

Otherwise, we have zero reason to believe that Donald Trump is capable of putting a coherent thought onto paper.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Much like any politician I guess? Obama did this on Whistleblowers and Hillary did this on Gay marriage, to name a couple of specifics.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

You could have just said, "I don't have a clue about what I'm talking about."

So then your position is that that Trump's opinion on such things is not as mercurial and illiterate as his opinion on abortion, deficitswar, or anything else?

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean like his hotels whose room prices have nosedived?

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

"And as for profiting from politics, that's a Clinton thing."

Christ. You are so misguided it is hilarious.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Who says I didn't do anything yesterday? I shit the bed; that's something.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[Mashiki]

Otherwise, we have zero reason to believe that Donald Trump is capable of putting a coherent thought onto paper.

Try picking up a book(or his), it'll do you wonders.

Re:Trump will OK it.

[PopeRatzo]

Try picking up a book(or his), it'll do you wonders.

Donald Trump did not write "his" book. It was written by a ghostwriter named Tony Schwartz. Trump admits this. There still isn't any evidence that Trump can write anything but his name.and tweets.

https://www.thenation.com/arti...

Re:Trump will OK it.

[karmatic]

Because there's something called Compromise, which happens when you have a President, rather than a dictator?

He was elected to do a job. That requires getting a Republican congress to actually do something. As you've seen from the past few presidents, that's not an easy thing to do, unless all you want is tax cuts.

If there's one thing Trump tries to regulate

[Anonymous Coward]

it's news networks that expose his bullshit administration for the sellout sham they are. This has nothing to do with AT&T.

Re:If there's one thing Trump tries to regulate

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess that was hard for you to type with Trump's dick in your mouth.

Payback is a bitch

[Anonymous Coward]

Vertical mergers have been approved for decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

There may be reasons that the big getting bigger is not appealing to some, but this looks like payback for CNN reporting. And that is bad for the country.

Re:Payback is a bitch

[cfalcon]

> but this looks like payback for CNN reporting

People are really going to get upset about the government enforcing anti-monopoly rules now, because it is Trump who is enforcing them?

Gimme a break.

Re:Payback is a bitch

[slack_justyb]

People are really going to get upset about the government enforcing anti-monopoly rules now, because it is Trump who is enforcing them?

This is the most infuriating part about his administration. His ego gets put in every conversation or topic and that gets us a magnified topic a million fold within two seconds. His bigger than life showmanship basically ensures that rationale debate just never happens. Pair that with his hyper thin skin, where anyone who says anything is instantly brought center stage. This combo basically takes anything he sets his eyes on, big or small, and immediately explodes it to a level where people are instantly taking sides with rabid fervor. So when he actually wants to uphold the law, everyone is confused as to what the intent is, or if there is an intent, or if his playing some game, or if he's too stupid to be playing a game. You could not ask for a more opaque administration on what their direction is, and this is an office where transparency is really needed. He did not get into office on the best of terms possible and that's a point that's bugged him visibly. No one has forgotten that part. His legitimacy is technical and that hasn't led to good first starts in any administration. Finally, he's constantly talking about things that aren't national level things. The national level things he does talk about, he's got no clue. And the only plan I've heard from him so far is that whatever it is, it's going to be great. GREAT! Any details on that plan is an instant deferment to Congress. So basically, not his plan if it fails, we've figured out the MO here.

Trump is quite literally his own worse enemy because even if his actions are genuine, you can't tell because of how bombastic and ostentatious he treats literally every other topic that crosses his desk. That's a super problem. Because the whole Time Warner thing shouldn't happen, but because the President has basically said, "I have a vendetta on CNN." He's given tank loads of ammo to an army of lawyers on AT&Ts side who will drag that very point through three dozen courts, leaving a trail of legal blood and fury if need be. Which then Trumpster's army will start hurling stones at them for being the corrupt media. All the while, the by-standards, people who actually report honest news and those who honestly just want to uphold the freaking law, will be in the crossfire. And this is all because Cheeto just couldn't check his damn ego when he turned on the TV. He just could not move past the things that everyone hurls at him, his is a position of power, yeah, there's going to be a group "somewhere" that doesn't like you and has a vendetta, everyone other person who held the position in the last 50ish years just basically blows it off, except maybe Nixon, and moves on with their damn life.

That's what kills me the most about this topic. This is honestly upholding the law, but the Spary-On Commander has basically burned any legitimacy going for him right now. And really fucking powerful folks with more lawyers than Arby's has roast beef, is quite literally the last group of folks you want to tangle with when your legitimacy is not at its most healthiest point.

Re:Payback is a bitch

[Anonymous Coward]

> but this looks like payback for CNN reporting

People are really going to get upset about the government enforcing anti-monopoly rules now, because it is Trump who is enforcing them?

Gimme a break.

I'm okay with blocking the purchase. I'm not okay if the Trump admin is applying different criteria to companies that he doesn't particularly like.

What about Sinclair? Also his admin just made it easy to own more stations/newspapers/etc in an area.

Given those facts and his past statements, well it certainly looks like payback. That being said, I'm not thrilled with Trump possibly doing the right thing for the wrong reason, but it is at least better than the wrong thing for the wrong reason.

Re:Payback is a bitch

[Anonymous Coward]

TLDR; you don't like Trump. Got it!

Say what, say what now????

[cb88]

AT&T and Time Warner *ARE* direct competitors....

Re:Say what, say what now????

[Anonymous Coward]

Time Warner != Time Warner Cable.

Re:Say what, say what now????

[Ixokai]

You do realize that Time Warner sold its cable business?

'Time Warner' makes content. That's it. They don't compete with AT&T, which delivers content.

Somebody said that suing == asking. So ...

[Anonymous Coward]

If suing is the lawyer equivalent of asking the judge a question, as another /. user said, then ...

is this the judge asking a question to himself?

I don't understand why the judiciary branch has a need to sue? They are the ones deciding. So can't they just ... you know ... decide?

Re:Somebody said that suing == asking. So ...

[Memnos]

The DOJ is a department of the executive branch of government, not the judicial branch.

PROTIP: The president is a meaningless figurehead

[Anonymous Coward]

If this still isn't clear to you, after "Obama" has extended what "Bush" extended what "Clinton" extended, what ... ...then you know why it keeps being like that.

Trump just as much has to be the sock puppet to the (mostly military-)industrial fist or be destroyed or shot in the head or something.

I'll gladly bet money on that. Including the next president trumping even Trump.

Retaliation

[DaMattster]

I am most often against mergers but this is in retaliation by the Trump Administration for perceived slights. Usually, I am dead against the orange cheeto dude with small hands, but on this one, I'll agree.

The enemy of my enemy

[rsilvergun]

is still Trump, but I'll take what I can get, especially after he's done packing the courts with lunatics.

vertical?

[Anonymous Coward]

no this is a horizontal merger. They provide the same services over the same areas. Eliminating competition. It is also stupid as the cable TV subscriber base is sinking fast.

Re:vertical?

[Anonymous Coward]

Time Warner Cable is not Time Warner the content company (and TWC was sold to Charter). There is near zero overlap in their services.

Pity

[stabiesoft]

Trump is right for the wrong reason. He just hates CNN, so a very bad reason to oppose the deal. The deal should be opposed because mega companies are not good. I could totally see him being ok with ATT merging with VZ though. Especially if he holds stock in both. What is good for trump is good for america and that is the lens he sees everything thru.

one down

[Anonymous Coward]

Haha THEDONALD is fucking in the azzwhole a major biznazi. WooHoo ... dead Ameri-Mex patrol horrific case RIP , but it bitchslaps bleedingheart progressives. Now THEDONALD just needs to yank welfare from babymamaz ... let Maxine Waters parasites starve-2-death and his blojobbing immigrant dreemerz will be forgiven.

Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

You figure he is a CNN fan?

This is pretty simple.

President Trump and his administration approve things that make him and his allies money, and try to punish and take money from people who stand against him.

CNN is annoying, so he tries to punish the owners of CNN by making it cost them a crapload of time and money to own CNN.

Contrariwise, he approves the end of media ownership limits because it will help conservative buyers.

Meanwhile, he writes a tax bill that will take away the state income tax deductions (increasing taxes on Democrats) and severely cut taxes on business owners (including on his real estate holdings in particular), but does not hurt the charitable foundation deduction (leaving his own loopholes in play).

Re: Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

Why should the rest of the country subsidize your choice of living in a high tax area? Claiming those taxes as a deduction hides the true cost of your liberal Utopia. If you want it then pay for it.

Re: Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

If you want it then pay for it.

You're ignoring the part about "leaving his own loopholes in play". If you want it pay for it.

Re: Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

Liberal Utopias like CA and NY do pay for it. In fact, as tax donor states, they pay for the whole damn country. They pay for those backwards people who are about to elect a child molester. They pay for roads, bridges and airports that connect "Real America" to the outside world. They pay for the health and safety of every American.

People from places that receive tax dollars from the industry and people of those liberal utopias, should understand their place in the world.

Re: Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

Why should the rest of the country subsidize your choice of living in a high tax area? Claiming those taxes as a deduction hides the true cost of your liberal Utopia. If you want it then pay for it.

Oh please don't pretend that the rest of the country including yourself are subsidizing for others. You are just one of those who believe in the tax myth without even open your eyes to look for real information.

Re: Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

We spend more in federal taxes than we collect in services from the federal government anyway.

Re:Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

Trump doesn't write bills, he only urges passage of whatever he can sign that he has a vague idea on. But yeah for sure the fantasy-world conservatives have been very busy during this administration's term trying to enrich themselves.

Re: Follow The Money

[karmatic]

"In fact, as tax donor states, they pay for the whole damn country. "

California, for reference, receives $0.99 for every dollar they pay in taxes. They are hardly a "donor state" in any meaningful sense.

http://www.politifact.com/cali...

New York actually is a donor state. California suffers from problems of its own making, and this post contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer or other reproductive harm.

Re: Follow The Money

[Anonymous Coward]

Lol. Factor in the cost of being a sanctuary city for illegal alens and try again.

\o/

[easyTree]

Free market in action?

Geese vs Gander

[Anonymous Coward]

Guaranteed if the Justice Dept issued me a demand and I failed to comply I would be removed from society.

Real reason

[Anonymous Coward]

... AT&T is confident a judge will ...

... want favourable attention from a pro-corporate White House.

libs

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait..Liberals are for big business now? You complain and want the opposite of what his administration does. Trump and is administration are playing you phewls. I love it! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MAGA. Poor liberals

Re:libs

[JonnyCalcutta]

C'mon, you could at least try and put together a coherent troll. This is just pathetic.

Re:libs

[Anonymous Coward]

How'd you type all that with mah dick in yer mouth!

Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

The DOJ is suing AT&T for a merger(don't get me wrong, they should), yet they just sit back and watch while net neutrality(which also affects govt entities) is being destroyed without a 2nd thought.