AT&T engages its Washington firepower with mega-deal for Time Warner on the line

Washington

AT&T Inc's US$85.4 billion bid for entertainment titan Time Warner Inc is where few imagined it would end up - hurtling toward a make-or-break moment in Washington with a pro-business Republican administration that shows signs it may reject the deal.

Dallas-based AT&T is fighting an increasingly public battle with Justice Department antitrust officials, who have questioned whether t…