Trump The Trustbuster (Interview with Lina Khan)

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie has an interview with antitrust expert Lina Khan, Director of Legal Policy of the Open Markets Institute, about the lawsuit filed by the Trump Administration to block the proposed AT&T/Time Warner merger. Charlie and Lina first discuss the background of antitrust law and the mechanics of how the Department of Justice reviews mergers for antitrust concerns. Lina then explains the difference between vertical and horizontal mergers and explains why vertical mergers like the one here are typically not a major antitrust concern. They then get into the nitty gritty of this deal and discuss why the communications sector is unique, why this deal may be problematic, and whether this lawsuit may have been motivated by the President's expressed animus toward CNN, which is owned by Time Warner. They end with a discussion of whether it's valid to oppose the Administration's actions on the grounds that DOJ is doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.Please share or provide feedback, and rate us in iTunes. You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at [email protected].

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