AT&T Chief's Defense of Time Warner Merger ‘strains Credibility,' Feds Say

WASHINGTON -- AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson's attempt at explaining away key antitrust concerns about his company's massive merger with Time Warner "strains credibility," a top U.S. Justice Department attorney said on Monday.That kind of combative pushback marked the federal government's closing arguments in U.S. District Court against a $108.7 billion merger that would fundamentally alter the media world.Justice Department attorney Craig Conrath, urging the court to block all or part of the merger, walked point by point through the feds' case that the deal between Dallas-based AT&T and New York-based Time Warner would leave consumers with higher prices and fewer choices."This merger would substantially lessen competition and pose substantial harm on consumers," he said, with Stephenson and Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes sitting stone-faced in the courtroom.  Continue reading...