In a briefing filed by the Department of Justice on Monday — as part of the federal government’s efforts to challenge AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner — the DOJ argued that the trial judge who approved the merger between the two media giants disregarded “fundamental principles of economics and common sense,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
A U.S. district judge ruled in favor of the acquisition in June, claiming the federal government hadn’t been able to prove its claims that the merger would give AT&T vast authority to squash competitors if it were allowed to function as “a top distributor of pay-TV service as well as the owner of top content,” in the WSJ’s words.
In its briefing filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Monday, the DOJ argued the ruling was wrong because it ignored speculations that companies are inherently motivated by maximum profits.
Read the WSJ’s full report here.
The DOJ knows it will lose on appeal. The trial showed the Trump regime had no legitimate case to block the AT&T and TimeWarner merger. As all Americans know, Trump opposed the merger because he wanted to stifle CNN’s exercise of free speech. CNN is owned by TimeWarner.
"we believe in the power of free markets.
Unless we don’t like you,
Then fuck you very much."
The Rethuglican Party has been disregarding “fundamental principles of economics and common sense,” for decades.
Speculations? Are they fucking kidding?
[Quote] federal government hadn’t been able to prove its claims that the merger would give AT&T vast authority to squash competitors if it were allowed to function as “a top distributor of pay-TV service as well as the owner of top content,” in the WSJ’s words.[/Quote] Concearns of course, that only have a basis in this specific situation and not with, say, ISPs using their market positions to give preferential treatment in the absence of Net Neutrality restrictions, which of course are an affront to the glory of an unfettered free market.