AT&T Loses Bid to Obtain White House Call Logs
In a statement, the Justice Department said, “We are pleased with
and respect today’s decision, which will permit the parties and court to focus on the case at hand.”
AT&T has argued that the Justice Department has unfairly singled out its proposed
merger with Time Warner partly to stay in favor with the White House.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge blocked AT&T’s move to obtain communication logs between the Justice Department and the White House on Tuesday, hampering the phone giant’s argument
that politics played a role in the government’s decision to halt a merger with Time Warner.
Last week, the Justice Department asked Judge Leon to block the company’s demands for communications with the
White House, saying they were a “sideshow” to the antitrust concerns the government held about the merger.
AT&T’s lawyers have requested emails and phone and other communications logs between Justice Department officials
and the White House, to see if the White House influenced the agency’s decision.
“We respect the judge’s decision and look forward to the upcoming trial,” said Dan Petrocelli, lead trial lawyer for both Time Warner and AT&T.
In the opinion on Tuesday, Judge Leon said that AT&T was able to point only to the Justice Department’s
approval of Comcast’s merger as proof of discrimination toward AT&T and Time Warner