That realization, and the accompanying anger and embarrassment in Congress and at the FCC, offered deButts an opening. McGowan had built his company by outflanking AT&T in Washington, and it was McGowan who had shifted the field of battle from business to politics and law. With McGowan’s credibility destroyed and his reservoir of political goodwill drained because of Execunet, perhaps now was the time for AT&T to turn the tables on MCI.
