Trump administration uses CNN as bargaining chip in Time Warner-AT&T deal

The Trump administration is threatening to scuttle AT&T’s $85.4bn takeover of Time Warner’s media assets unless the company sells off the parent unit of CNN or the satellite operator DirecTV, according to reports.The DoJ requirement, first reported by the Financial Times, comes against a backdrop of intense criticism of CNN as “fake news” by president Donald Trump on his Twitter account in the past year.The timing of the deal, originally expected to close by the end o