U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REVIEWS ICAHN USAIR FILING

  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
  is reviewing whether Trans World Airlines Inc &lt;TWA> and
  Chairman Carl Icahn violated federal antitrust law by failing
  to seek advance clearance from the DOJ or the Federal Trade
  Commission for his extensive open-market purchases of USAir
  Group Inc &lt;U> stock, a DOJ official told a Senate panel.
      "This is a matter that is being looked into," Charles Rule,
  acting assistant attorney general-antitrust, told the Senate
  Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee.
      Rule declined further comment while the review was
  continuing.
      Rule was responding to panel Chairman Howard Metzenbaum
  (D-Ohio), who had asked why the department was not acting
  against "what appears to be a clear violation of the law."
      Metzenbaum said Icahn had failed to file a pre-merger
  notification form with the FTC prior to purchasing more than 15
  mln dlrs' worth of USAir stock.
      But Rule said that, for airline companies, a purchaser
  would be exempt from the requirement if it instead had filed a
  merger application with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
      Icahn filed such an application with the DOT, but the
  filing was thrown out by the DOT on Friday.
      The DOT threw out the application late Friday on grounds it
  lacked the necessary data for the government to review the
  proposed USAir takeover bid.
      Icahn refiled a more complete application form Monday.
      Rule pledged to act against Icahn and TWA if a violation
  were found.
  

