Sanders: ‘We must do everything possible’ to press Clinton on AT&T-Time Warner [View all]

[Donkees]

By Brian Fung October 25 at 6:10 PM

Excerpts:

The growing opposition to AT&’s $85 billion bid to acquire Time Warner by populist politicians on the left and right offers a preview of the ideological fights that Hillary Clinton would immediately confront if she were elected president.

The merger, expected to go before antitrust regulators early next year, would be one of the first major tests of Clinton’s willingness as president to heed strident criticisms that the political system favors big businesses.

On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders said he would pressure Clinton to oppose the merger, if she won the White House.

“If Hillary Clinton is elected president we must do everything possible to make certain that her administration mounts a vigorous anti-trust effort,” he said in a statement to the Post. “We must reject the AT&T-Time Warner merger. We need more diverse media ownership, not less.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren also on Tuesday called for rigorous oversight of the deal. Clinton’s rival, Donald Trump, has already said he would oppose it.

“There’s no question there’ll be a firestorm of protest from the Sanders-Warren wing of the Democratic party,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, “forcing Hillary to get tough on Wall Street with the first test case being AT&T-Time Warner.”

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Clinton’s response to the mega-merger has so far been measured. Regulators should certainly examine the deal, her aides have said. Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, told NBC Sunday that he held “concerns and questions” about the tie-up. But the Clinton campaign has stopped short of calling for the transaction’s demise. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/10/25/sanders-we-must-do-everything-possible-to-press-clinton-on-att-time-warner/