TOP HOUSE JUDICIARY AND OVERSIGHT DEMS RENEW CALL FOR WHITE HOUSE-DOJ COMMUNICATIONS ON TIME WARNER MERGER

Today, top Democrats from the House Judiciary and House Oversight and Government Reform Committees sent a letter to the Department of Justice renewing their February 8, 2018 request for documents related to AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner in light of new concerns raised by recent statements regarding President Donald Trump’s potential interference with the Department’s merger review process. The letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions from House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), House Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member David N. Cicilline (D-RI), and House Government Operations Subcommittee Ranking Member Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), requests any and all communications between the White House and the Department of Justice on the matter.

“As we have repeatedly noted, political interference in law enforcement matters — including antitrust enforcement — is unacceptable and without modern precedent,” the Members wrote. “Despite our repeated requests for materials related to the Trump Administration’s many conflicting claims on the matter, the Department has not provided Congress with any relevant information.”

On March 1, 2018, Cummings and Connolly sent a letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy requesting a subpoena for these documents, but Gowdy declined and blocked Committee members from voting on the subpoena.

The full text of the letter sent to Attorney General Sessions is embedded below. A PDF copy can be downloaded by clicking here or below.