White House, Justice Department sued over Fox-Disney deal records

A non-profit group has filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking records of communications between the White House and the Justice Department on the Walt Disney Co's $52.4bn deal to buy Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.

According to Reuters, Protect Democracy Project Inc has filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Washington seeking "any related antitrust enforcement efforts by the DOJ, to find out whether the president or his administration is improperly interfering with the independence of the DOJ out of favoritism for a political ally."

The lawsuit came close on the heels of AT&T Inc's acquisition of Time Warner Inc for $85.4bn, a move that was criticised by the President, and led AT&T to request - that was denied last month by a federal judge - access to White House communications that could clarify whether Trump had tried to block the purchase.

Protect Democracy said in a statement the lawsuit's aim was to keep the country from descending into a more autocratic form of government.

"Part of our larger mission to counter the president’s attempt to undermine two key pillars of our democratic system – fair and independent law enforcement, and freedom of the press, most critically, freedom to dissent against the government."