Trump’s CNN slurs may complicate AT&T and Time Warner deal
Washington/New York — US President Donald Trump’s broadsides against cable network CNN may complicate the US government’s legal case if it decides to block AT&T’s deal to buy media company Time Warner, according to legal experts. Trump’s repeated claims that CNN produces "fake news" and other criticisms of the network could hurt legitimate legal arguments the US department of justice may use to show the deal gives the company too much power over media rivals and is bad for consumers. "His comments have soiled the process," said John Kwoka, an economics professor at Northeastern University. "If I were AT&T’s lawyers I would certainly introduce them into the evidentiary record as meddling with what is really a law enforcement process." The fate of AT&T’s $85.4bn deal to buy Time Warner, hatched in October 2016, looks set to end up in court as the two sides have so far failed to agree on what conditions AT&T needs to meet to gain anti-trust approval. Justice department staff have recom...
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