Reid Pillifant

Sen Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will recuse himself from congressional consideration of Comcast's acquisition of Time Warner Cable, because his brother, Robert, was a lead attorney on the deal. A report raised questions about Sen Schumer's impartiality, after The American Lawyer magazine named Robert Schumer, a partner at Paul Weiss, its "Dealmaker of the Week" for his involvement in the sale.

"As Senator Schumer and his brother had never discussed the matter before, the piece in American Lawyer was the first Senator Schumer learned that his brother had worked on the deal," said Max Young, a spokesman for Sen Schumer. "Now that he’s aware of his brother’s involvement, Senator Schumer will recuse himself from Congressional consideration of the matter to avoid any appearance of bias."

Sen Schumer had previously praised the deal, saying Comcast had told him they expected to increase Time Warner's operation in New York, planned to keep New York 1, and were committed to increasing jobs in Buffalo. “While we still need to review the details, it seems like the Time Warner Cable acquisition will be a good deal for New York," Sen Schumer said on Feb 13, shortly after the deal was announced.