Ashcroft offered services to XM - WSJ

NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who sent a letter this week to his successor Alberto Gonzales blasting the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI.O) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. XMSR.O, approached XM in the days after the merger was announced offering the firm his consulting services, a spokesman for XM said, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The spokesman said XM declined Ashcroft's offer to work as a lobbyist for the company, the Journal reported.

Ashcroft was subsequently hired by the National Association of Broadcasters, which is fiercely opposed to the merger. On its behalf, he conducted a review of the effects on competition if the two satellite radio companies were allowed to merge, the Journal reported.

In a letter sent to Gonzales Feb. 27, Ashcroft concluded the merger would have a significant negative impact on competition in the market and urged the current attorney general to withhold approval for the merger, the Journal said.