Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with the Axios AM and PM newsletters. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to the Axios Closer newsletter for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter.
Sign up for Axios Pro Rata
Dive into the world of dealmakers across VC, PE and M&A with Axios Pro Rata. Delivered daily to your inbox by Dan Primack and Kia Kokalitcheva.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with the Axios Sports newsletter. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Des Moines newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Want a daily digest of the top Nashville news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Nashville newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Columbus news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Columbus newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Dallas news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Dallas newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Austin news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Austin newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Atlanta news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Atlanta newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Philadelphia news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Philadelphia newsletter.
Want a daily digest of the top Chicago news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Chicago newsletter.
Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas
Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters
Want a daily digest of the top DC news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios DC newsletter.
Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney Genery in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images.
Hours before a federal judge will announce his verdict in the AT&T vs Justice Department case determining the fate of AT&T's $85 billion merger with Time Warner, the Trump administration's top antitrust enforcer doubled down on the DOJ's interpretation of antitrust laws in blocking the deal.
The big picture: This is the most significant antitrust case in years. Even if DOJ ultimately loses the case, as many analysts expect it will, it has put a stake in the ground on how it views its enforcement powers.
Makan Delrahim, who leads the Justice Department's antitrust division, defended the DOJ's stance on the AT&T-Time Warner deal, which he noted was put together by career antitrust attorneys.
- The deal "would have unlawfully raised prices for cable TV subscribers and harmed online innovation," he said.
He made the case in a speech Tuesday morning that the long-held "consumer welfare standard" that is at the core of antitrust reviews remains the best way to evaluate threats to competition, and that broadening that standard to include the impact on democracy and free speech carries significant risks.
Key quotes:
- Some have argued that the DOJ should use is sizable powers to do what's best for democracy, in addition to focusing narrowly on consumer harm. Delrahim said doing so would "carry too great a risk of undermining constitutional values."
- Prosecutors, he said "carry with them their own perceptions of what is good and bad for democracy."
- The consumer welfare standard, he said, "protects us from the dangers to liberty from well-meaning enforcers," quoting former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
- Political positions should have no role in determining antitrust actions, he said, and added that "there could be real risks to core democratic standards in pursuit of broader societal goals."
Go deeper:
- Axios on the possible outcomes: It's judgment day for AT&T's merger with Time Warner
- Politico's Nancy Scola has a detailed look at Delrahim's philosophy