AT&T CEO Hits DoJ: We Won’t Agree to Any Compromise on the ‘First Amendment Protections of the Press’

RUSH EXCERPT:
STEPHENSON: "We've witnessed such an abrupt change in the application of antitrust law here. But the bottom line is that we cannot and we will not be party to any agreement that would even give the perception of compromising the First Amendment protections of the press. So any agreement that results in us forefiting control of CNN whether directly or indirectly is a nonstarter. We believe quite strongly that any divestiture of AT&T assets or Time Warner assets is not required by the law and we have no intention of backing down from the government's lawsuit. We are in this to win. And have sent a reasonable compromise that doesn't violate our principles, expect to do just that."