Watchdog lawsuit seeks to determine if White House influenced Time Warner-AT&T merger

WASHINGTON – Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan watchdog group, is suing the U.S. Justice Department to determine whether there has been any inappropriate influence from President Trump or his White House advisers over the AT&T-Time Warner merger. 

The Justice Department failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request the group filed in July seeking confirmation of any contacts between the White House and the Justice Department regarding the proposed deal, which prompted the lawsuit filed on Thursday, the group told USA TODAY. 

The group was formed by lawyers who worked in the Obama administration but also has Republicans on its team. 

The suit seeks to compel the Justice Department to comply with its FOIA request to determine “whether anyone in the Trump Administration has improperly interfered with the Department’s review of the merger between AT&T and Time-Warner, or has acted in that matter based on the President’s personal dislike of CNN’s protected speech,” according to the suit, shared with USA TODAY. 

AT&T had expected the deal, announced in October 2016, to close by the end of the year.  But the DOJ is seeking some concessions for its approval.

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The Washington Post, citing two unnamed people, reported that AT&T had volunteered the idea of selling CNN as one such concession to expedite the merger, and the DOJ's anti-trust division had rejected it. It also quoted a third source, who said the DOJ had requested the sale of CNN. 

The potential for any White House influence has raised concerns, the group says, given Trump’s outspoken criticism of CNN, one of Time Warner's properties, and its coverage of his campaign and White House. During a 2016 campaign rally, Trump even said any AT&T-Time Warner deal is “a deal we will not approve in my administration.”

The Justice Department is declining to comment about the merger. 

Jesse Lee, a spokesman for Protect Democracy, a watchdog group founded after Trump's election, says that previous administrations since the Watergate era have upheld strict contacts policy rules forbidding political influence from the executive branch over federal agencies tasked with enforcing U.S. laws for political purposes. 

The suit says the group is also concerned about Trump targeting other news organizations including threats to revoke broadcast licenses of media networks, hints about using antitrust authorities to punish the owner of The Washington Post and calls for journalists to be fired by their employers. 

“We have been especially concerned about antitrust enforcement as a form of inappropriate leverage to pursue political agendas,” the group wrote in an earlier statement, citing “the president’s repeated attacks on CNN.

“Even if there was not explicit improper political interference in the merger review process behind the scenes, the fact that the President has repeatedly publicly attacked a media entity who has critical regulatory interests pending before him, and even reportedly threatened the prospect of denying this merger to retaliate against CNN for its coverage of him, has created a massive problem," it continued. 

The Justice Department has been reviewing the merger since early this year. But AT&T CEO and Chairman Randall Stephenson has said he expects the deal to close by the end of the year. Analysts have predicted the Trump administration's generally pro-business stance would override Trump's personal distaste for the deal.

"In authoritarian systems, those in power wield the machinery of government to
silence or punish their critics and reward their allies. In the United States, the law applies to all," the suit says. "The Department of Justice, in particular, has an obligation to ensure 'equal justice under law'."

More:AT&T CEO: 'No intention' of selling CNN for DOJ approval of $85.4B Time Warner bid

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Contributing: Mike Snider and Kevin Johnson