Judge rules against AT&T in White House records dispute

The federal judge hearing the Justice Department's lawsuit to block AT&T's proposed $85 billion purchase of Time Warner on Tuesday denied a request by the telecom giant to disclose communications between Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the White House about the deal.

Why it matters: Tuesday's ruling is a blow to AT&T's attempt to show that the lawsuit to block the deal is politically motivated by President Trump's antipathy for CNN, which Time Warner owns. AT&T says it wasn't asked to offload any assets as part of the deal until after Trump took office.