U.S. judge rejects AT&T bid to dismiss SEC lawsuit over leaks to analysts

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected AT&T Inc (NYSE:T)’s bid to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing it of giving some Wall Street analysts nonpublic information about the phone company’s forthcoming financial results in early 2016.

In a 129-page decision, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan said he found “formidable” evidence that AT&T investor relations executives selectively fed material nonpublic information to analysts, and did so with an intent to defraud.