DoJ not meeting with Members of Congress about AT&T

House Republicans should not expect a briefing soon from the Department of Justice on AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, now that the agency is proceeding with a lawsuit to block the deal on antitrust grounds.

The agency declined a request made earlier this month by Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI), Greg Walden (R-OR), and Joe Barton (R-TX), key Republicans on the House Commerce Committee. The lawmakers asked both DOJ and the Federal Communications Commission for a meeting so members could learn more about their proceedings. The lawmakers also said they had “specific concerns” with the DOJ about the deal, “and how these concerns relate to the impact on jobs and economic growth.” But responding Sept 19, a top official at Justice said the agency cannot provide such a briefing now because “the matter is in active litigation.”

“While we have long recognized the legitimate congressional interest in information about how the department enforces the law,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, “our disclosure of nonpublic information about matters in litigation outside of the judiciary process complicates and may jeopardize our law enforcement efforts, as well inescapably creating risk that the public and the courts will perceive undue political and congressional influence over litigation decisions.” For now, Weich said it is “important our discussions be limited” to the pending case, and pointed members to the DOJ’s recent filing to U.S. District Court. That document, supported now by seven state attorneys general, details federal prosecutors’ argument that the AT&T/T-Mobile deal is anti-competitive.