Trump is accused of gross abuse of his office. We’re not talking about the Mueller report.

By Editorial Board 

PRESIDENT TRUMP is accused of a gross abuse of his office, and his administration has not provided Congress the information it needs to reach the truth of the matter. No, this has nothing to do with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian election interference. Instead, it concerns the $85.4 billion AT&T-Time Warner merger that the president reportedly sought to pressure the Justice Department to block.

The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer reported last month that in 2017, Mr. Trump ordered Gary Cohn, then the director of the National Economic Council, to persuade antitrust authorities to file against AT&T’s purchase of the cable television company, which includes CNN. “I’ve mentioned it 50 times. And nothing’s happened,” the president allegedly said to John Kelly, who was chief of staff at the time. “I want that deal blocked!” Mr. Cohn, Ms. Mayer writes, told Mr. Kelly not to comply — but the Justice Department did bring suit and eventually lost in court.

Lawmakers have rightly been seeking more information about Mr. Trump’s alleged attempted meddling in the Antitrust Division’s decision, whether it was to reward Fox News because the outlet has been favorable to him or to hurt CNN because it has not. If he did intercede, it was a grave offense to press freedom and the rule of law, and one the president ought to be held accountable for. Unfortunately, accountability is not this administration’s strong suit: This week, the White House rejected a House Judiciary Committee request for documents on related discussions with the Justice Department, claiming executive privilege. The Justice Department, similarly, has yet to respond to multiple requests.

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