AT&T Loses Bid to Obtain White House Call Logs<br />In a statement, the Justice Department said, “We are pleased with<br />and respect today’s decision, which will permit the parties and court to focus on the case at hand.”<br />AT&T has argued that the Justice Department has unfairly singled out its proposed<br />merger with Time Warner partly to stay in favor with the White House.<br />WASHINGTON — A federal judge blocked AT&T’s move to obtain communication logs between the Justice Department and the White House on Tuesday, hampering the phone giant’s argument<br />that politics played a role in the government’s decision to halt a merger with Time Warner.<br />Last week, the Justice Department asked Judge Leon to block the company’s demands for communications with the<br />White House, saying they were a “sideshow” to the antitrust concerns the government held about the merger.<br />AT&T’s lawyers have requested emails and phone and other communications logs between Justice Department officials<br />and the White House, to see if the White House influenced the agency’s decision.<br />“We respect the judge’s decision and look forward to the upcoming trial,” said Dan Petrocelli, lead trial lawyer for both Time Warner and AT&T.<br />In the opinion on Tuesday, Judge Leon said that AT&T was able to point only to the Justice Department’s<br />approval of Comcast’s merger as proof of discrimination toward AT&T and Time Warner
