The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday approved AT&T’s $43 billion plan to merge its WarnerMedia unit with Discovery, the companies announced on Wednesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. According to the filing (pdf), which was first obtained by TheWrap, Discovery and AT&T have “satisfied the closing condition” in the merger plan, which was initially announced on May 17, 2021. “The HSR Act statutory waiting period has expired or otherwise been terminated, and any agreement not to consummate the transaction between the parties and the Federal Trade Commission or the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice or any other applicable governmental entity, has also expired or otherwise been terminated,” the filing reads. Now the deal, which received European Commission approval in December, is expected to close in the second quarter, pending approval from Discovery shareholders, which will likely not be an issue. The deal to create a new media and entertainment giant called …