The American Cable Association (ACA), a lobbying group for midsize cable operators, sent a letter to the Department of Justice demanding an investigation into Comcast over alleged antitrust violations committed by company. The letter was addressed to Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, and a hawk on antitrust issues.
The ACA claims Comcast has already violated antitrust laws repeatedly by allegedly exerting price pressure along with withholding “must-have” programming from local stations, squeezing rival cable distributors by threatening to raise prices, and refusing to carry certain channels.
In a tweet, President Donald Trump said Comcast “routinely violated antitrust law,” in remarks he ascribed to the American Cable Association.
Trump has frequently taken aim at the alleged anticompetitive practices of media companies whose stories paint him in an unflattering light, including CNN owner AT&T as well as Amazon, whose CEO Jeff Bezos is owner of the Washington Post.