Hatch to play key role in Comcast-NBC merger

General Electric Chairman Jeffery Immelt sent Sen Orrin Hatch (R-UT) a $2,000 campaign contribution the same day his company announced a deal giving Comcast controlling interest in NBC Universal. It was the first time Immelt has donated to the Utah senator, and yet the contribution capped a fundraising barrage during the previous month where top GE vice presidents and the company's political action committee funneled a total of $23,000 to Hatch's campaign account. Sen Hatch is expected to play a key role in the congressional review of the controversial merger. He is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary's antitrust committee, which will hold its first hearing on the Comcast-NBC deal Thursday. A GE spokesman said the contributions' proximity to the merger announcement was a coincidence and nothing more, while Hatch's staff said the donations have no impact on his views. Coincidence or not, Sen Hatch is likely to be more sympathetic toward the massive media merger than many others on the subcommittee.