By Brent Kendall
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 3, 2017).
President Donald Trump's nominee to lead antitrust enforcement
at the Justice Department recently agreed to tell lawmakers if the
White House tries to improperly influence any decision he makes on
whether to allow AT&T Inc.'s $85 billion acquisition of Time
Warner Inc.
The commitment came in a meeting between the nominee, Makan
Delrahim, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), who wrote a July
24 letter memorializing the discussion.
"I particularly appreciated your commitment that you will brief
me, in an appropriate setting, any time the White House initiates
an inappropriate communication with you or anybody in the Antitrust
Division," the senator wrote to Mr. Delrahim after the meeting.
People familiar with the meeting, which also included Senate and
Justice Department staffers, confirmed the exchange and said the
men also generally discussed the importance of the department's
independence. They said Mr. Delrahim additionally provided
assurances that officials at the White House have not sought to
lobby him on AT&T.
The White House and the Justice Department communicate with one
another, but protocols governing those discussions seek to assure
that the department can operate free from improper political
intervention.
The White House didn't respond to requests for comment. A
Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
Mr. Trump during last year's presidential campaign said AT&T
shouldn't be allowed to buy Time Warner, which owns CNN, because it
would allow too much concentration of power in one company.
The president at times has been sharply critical of coverage he
has received from the cable network.
While Mr. Blumenthal and other Senate Democrats are attempting
to head off any White House interference in the Justice
Department's review of the AT&T deal, they -- like Mr. Trump --
have raised objections to the transaction, arguing it could lessen
competition and reduce programming choices for customers.
In an interview, the senator said that while he would like to
see the deal blocked, he would want the Justice Department to do it
for the right reasons, after a thorough antitrust review.
It's not clear where the president currently stands on the
AT&T transaction, Mr. Blumenthal added.
Mr. Blumenthal's meeting with Mr. Delrahim comes amid broader
concerns expressed by senators of both parties about Mr. Trump's
relations with the Justice Department. Mr. Trump in recent weeks
has criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions, faulting his recusal
from a probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Both
Republicans and Democrats have criticized Mr. Trump's remarks.
AT&T has rejected criticism of its Time Warner acquisition.
The company says combining the media brands with its wireless,
satellite and broadband networks would create a stronger competitor
to offerings from other cable and video providers.
AT&T last week said it still expects the deal to close by
the end of this year. The company on Tuesday declined to comment on
the Justice Department review, though a spokesman said Chief
Executive Randall Stephenson has never discussed the Time Warner
acquisition with Mr. Trump.
The Justice Department's decision on whether to approve the
AT&T deal, and under what conditions, will be one of Mr.
Delrahim's earliest high-profile tasks if he is confirmed by the
Senate.
At his confirmation hearing in May, Mr. Delrahim, who currently
serves as a deputy White House counsel, pledged that politics would
not play a role in his antitrust enforcement decisions.
Mr. Trump selected Mr. Delrahim in March. The nominee previously
worked as a Justice Department antitrust lawyer in the George W.
Bush administration.
Mr. Delrahim is one of dozens of nominees waiting for Senate
votes while lawmakers battled over health-care legislation. As part
of that tussle, Democrats forced a considerable slowdown of
confirmation votes. With that battle over, confirmation votes are
picking up, but no date has yet been set for Mr. Delrahim.
While Mr. Delrahim has been on the sidelines, the Justice
Department has been deep into its investigation of the effects of
the AT&T deal, which would combine a top wireless and cable
provider with a major U.S. media and entertainment company.
Mr. Delrahim enjoys bipartisan support, with the Senate
Judiciary Committee voting 19-1 in June to send his nomination to
the Senate floor.
Mr. Blumenthal, who voted for Mr. Delrahim in committee, said he
sought the meeting after a New York Times report last month said
White House advisers had discussed using the government merger
review of the AT&T-Time Warner deal as a potential point of
leverage against CNN. The senator said that after the meeting, he
continues to support Mr. Delrahim for the job.
Mr. Delrahim, in answers to senators during the confirmation
process, left himself room to maneuver in various directions on
AT&T. The deal is a vertical merger -- a transaction that
combines firms at different parts of the supply chain -- and those
types of deals don't usually attract outright opposition from the
Justice Department.
Mr. Delrahim told the Senate that antitrust scholars generally
believe vertical mergers raise less-serious concerns than
combinations of head-to-head competitors. But he also said there
can be times when a vertical merger could have anticompetitive
effects.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 03, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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