John Melloy | Fred Imbert

Published 19 Mins Ago Updated 1 Min Ago

CNBC.com

The Department of Justice is suing to block AT&T's $85 billion deal to buy Time Warner, AT&T said in a release.

"Today's DOJ lawsuit is a radical and inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust

precedent," said David McAtee, senior executive vice president and general counsel of AT&T, in a statement. "Vertical mergers like this one are routinely approved because they benefit

consumers without removing any competitor from the market. We see no legitimate reason for our merger to be treated differently."

Time Warner shares began falling into the close on Wednesday as news outlets began reporting the DOJ was planning a major antitrust action after the bell. The DOJ confirmed an action was coming Monday, but has not yet said it involved AT&T.

The action was sure to stir controversy because of President Donald Trump's adversarial relationship with CNN, which is owned by Time Warner. Trump has repeatedly criticized CNN's reporting, calling it "fake news."

Just last week, Trump tweeted: "While in the Philippines I was forced to watch @CNN, which I have not done in months, and again realized how bad, and FAKE, it is. Loser!"

Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump

While in the Philippines I was forced to watch @CNN, which I have not done in months, and again realized how bad, and FAKE, it is. Loser!

2:45 AM - Nov 15, 2017

39,377 39,377 Replies 32,544 32,544 Retweets 134,138 134,138 likes

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The DOJ has denied allegations it was blocking this deal to somehow punish the companies.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also told reporters in a briefing Monday that she was not aware of President Donald Trump or anyone at the White House encouraging pushing for the deal to get blocked.

"We are confident that the Court will reject the Government's claims and permit this merger under longstanding legal precedent," added McAtee in the statement.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3803859&forum_id=2#34733705)