Report Says Trump Ordered Top Adviser Cohn To Block At&t-Time Warner Merger
President Donald Trump ordered one of his top advisers to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger last year, The New Yorker reported on Monday, citing a well-informed source.
In the late summer of 2017, Trump asked Gary Cohn, then Trump’s chief economic adviser, to pressure the Justice Department to file a lawsuit to block a planned $85 billion merger between the two companies, according to the magazine.
“I’ve been telling Cohn to get this lawsuit filed and nothing’s happened!” Trump reportedly fumed to Cohn and White House chief of staff John Kelly during an Oval Office meeting. “I’ve mentioned it 50 times. And nothing’s happened. I want to make sure it’s filed. I want that deal blocked!”
As they walked out of the meeting, Cohn reportedly told Kelly not to call the Justice Department, saying, “We are not going to do business that way,” according to the source.
A source who spoke to NBC News, and asked not to be identified, confirmed that Cohn told the source that there was pressure from Trump to block the merger.
The news of Trump’s involvement in the merger was part of a longer article by Jane Mayer documenting the unusually close relationship between Trump and Fox News.
A spokesperson for Cohn declined to comment to The New Yorker, and Kelly did not respond to the magazine’s inquiries. A former White House official confirmed to the magazine that Trump often “vented” in “frustration” about wanting to block the merger. NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment. AT&T declined to comment on the article.
