William Barr, President Trump’s nominee for attorney general, promised to recuse himself from the Department of Justice’s lawsuit to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger, according to a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) announced on Friday that Barr, who served on Time Warner’s board until recently, made the assurance to her in a private meeting this week.
{mosads}“As Ranking Member of the Antitrust Subcommittee and as someone deeply concerned about maintaining a marketplace that benefits consumers, it is critically important that the Justice Department is able to complete an unbiased review of the proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger,” Klobuchar, a critic of the $85 billion deal, said in a statement. “Given Mr. Barr’s ties to Time Warner, this commitment from Mr. Barr to recuse himself from the Department’s review is necessary.”
Last year, a federal judge approved the merger after a six-week long court battle. The Trump administration appealed the decision but not before the two companies closed the deal.
Barr will face the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearings on Tuesday.