AT&T, Time Warner case: Judge warns both sides to meet June 21 deadline

U.S. judge Richard Leon on Wednesday warned attorneys for the Department of Justice and AT&T Inc to speed up the trial over the proposed merger of the large telecommunications company and Time Warner Inc , or risk missing the June 21 deadline to complete the deal.

Under the agreement, which had been extended from April 22, either company can pull out if the deal announced in October 2016 is not completed by the deadline.

"Both sides need to sit down with their clients and their teams and make sure the have down what they need versus what they want," Leon said. "If we are going to get this done prior to that date, we have to move."

The U.S. government opposes the $85 billion deal, arguing that it would hurt consumers because AT&T, which owns pay TV service DirecTV, would have more leverage to raise prices by owning Time Warner's Turner networks.