Attorney General Nominee William Barr Will Recuse Himself from AT&T-Time Warner Challenge

Attorney General nominee William Barr, a former board member of Time Warner, has agreed to recuse himself from the Justice Department's challenge to the AT&T-Time Warner merger. Currently, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is considering DOJ's appeal of a district court decision that the merger did not violate antitrust laws. Barr made the promise to Seante Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). "[I]t is critically important that the Justice Department is able to complete an unbiased review of the proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger,” Ranking Member Klobuchar said. “Given Mr. Barr’s ties to Time Warner, this commitment from Mr. Barr to recuse himself from the Department’s review is necessary.” Barr will face the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearings on Jan 15.