Corporate lobbyists use sweeteners to win over regulators
There’s more than political donations or legions of arm-twisting lobbyists in the Washington lobbying toolbox. Sometimes, there’s a status symbol cupcake, as Edward Wyatt reported in the New York Times. With AT&T facing what would appear to be a formidable task of convincing the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department to approve its proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile, one wonders if the company will be strategically delivering chocolate Easter eggs to the regulators this time around. Wyatt likened the delivery of the sought-after cupcakes to offices within the FCC during holiday season to a military operation. The breakdown of who got how many cupcakes was labeled “proprietary.” (more…)
Topics: Dept. of Justice, Featured Articles, Federal Communications Commission, Free Agency
Tags: $39 billion, AT&T merger, AT&T-T-Mobile merger, Department of Justice, Dept. of Justice, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, georgetown cupcake, Justice Department, merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, T-Mobile merger
Tags: $39 billion, AT&T merger, AT&T-T-Mobile merger, Department of Justice, Dept. of Justice, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, georgetown cupcake, Justice Department, merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, T-Mobile merger
