US: Judge “Shutdown won’t delay AT&T-Time Warner antitrust case”

According to Variety, the federal judge hearing the case told Justice Department lawyers that he would not be inclined to delay a pending antitrust case against AT&T and Time Warner in the event of a government shutdown.

US District Judge Richard Leon cited the urgency of the case, set to go to a trial on March 19.

“We’ve been in this situation before,” he told attorneys for the government and the companies. “It’s unfortunate we are in that situation.” He said, “hopefully, clearer heads will prevail” and a shutdown will be averted.

Just outside the court, Makan Delrahim, the chief of the antitrust division, told reporters afterward that they may still be obligated to request a stay in the case, leaving it up to the judge to decide. The Justice Department has a contingency plan for a government shutdown.

The Justice Department sued AT&T and Time Warner in November, arguing that their planned merger would harm competition because the combined company would have the incentive to raise prices on must-have networks, such as Time Warner’s Turner channels. Those include TBS, CNN, and TNT.

AT&T and Time Warner have argued that their transaction is just the type of vertical merger that has passed DOJ scrutiny for decades.

Full Content: Variety Media

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