AT&T loses bid to force the disclosure of White House communication about Time Warner deal

Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images

President Donald Trump listens to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson during the ‘American Leadership in Emerging Technology’ event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 22, 2017.

A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by AT&T to compel the U.S. Justice Department to disclose any records of communications between the White House and government lawyers that detail President Donald Trump’s views on the company’s proposed $85 billion merger with Time Warner.

The Justice Department on Friday moved to prevent AT&T from arguing that politics played a role in the government’s decision to stop the merger, which Trump has publicly criticized.