Giovanetti: Trump DoJ Attempt to Block AT&T Merger "Disappointing," "Ominous"

DALLAS - The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) president Tom Giovanetti says it’s more than disappointing that the Trump administration has decided to attempt to block the AT&T-TimeWarner merger, which had been considered non-controversial by antitrust observers of all political persuasions. Giovanetti also said the merger is almost parallel to the Comcast-NBC Universal transaction, which succeeded without opposition from the Obama administration, despite its Big Government, activist bent.

"We’re curious to see the Justice Department’s rationale for opposing the merger,” said Giovanetti. "It’s hard to imagine they can muster any opposition based on markets or competition, which leaves us with what we all already suspect: The Trump administration doesn’t like CNN, and is using the heavy hand of government to persecute those it doesn’t like."

"At various times during the campaign, candidate Trump threatened to use government power to punish those he didn’t favor," said Giovanetti. "This is neither a conservative nor a Republican nor an American inclination, and if that’s the motivation behind the Justice Department’s action, it should be opposed by all who claim to believe in limited government and rule-of-law, and considered an ominous turn in the Trump administration."