Attorney General Barr recuses himself from T-Mobile-Sprint merger decision

Apparently, Attorney General William Barr has recused himself from weighing in on a planned $26 billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint due to potential conflicts of interest. That gives Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, head of the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, final word on the controversial proposed merger between the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless providers. AG Barr was on Time Warner’s board until it was acquired in 2018 by AT&T and still owns stock in the new company. In his financial disclosure form signed Dec 24, Barr disclosed that he had AT&T vested stock options valued at between $250,000 and $500,000 and AT&T dividends valued at between $500,000 and $1 million. T-Mobile buying Sprint would have an impact on AT&T, which vies with Verizon for the title of nation’s largest carrier.