When Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion last month green-lighting the massive merger deal between AT&T and Time Warner, he described the weekslong court fight preceding his ruling as a “Herculean task” and “epic battle.” Peter Keisler he would represent AT&T One data point that might provide optimism for Main Justice? The D.C. Circuit's 2009 opinion in a case that dealt with Whole Foods Market's purchase of Wild Oats, a rival organic foods grocery chain. In that case, the D.C. Circuit reversed the lower court's ruling denying a request by the FTC to enjoin the deal. Whole Foods later settled with the FTC. The likely absence of Judge Brett Kavanaugh in a case dealing with the DOJ's appeal might boost DOJ's hopes for a successful appeal. He was the three-judge panel's sole dissenter in Whole Foods . One possible wrinkle to the appeal? The fact that AT&T and Time Warner already closed their deal on June 15, just days after Leon's ruling, a point that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson emphasized in an interview with CNBC last week. “The merger is closed. We own Time Warner,” he said. Sidley Austin's Peter Keisler Takes on More Formal Role for AT&T in Antitrust Appellate Battle