Cable News Network, which on Thursday refused to carry commercials opposing a bill to deregulate the communications industry, had an important ally in Congress who wanted to squelch the ads as well.

Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D. and a sponsor of the bill, said Friday that he met with AT&T’s chairman and chief executive, Robert Allen, on Thursday and tried to persuade him to drop the ads on the ground that they were “misleading” and “misconstrued the intent of the legislation.”

CNN said it refused to run the commercials because of a “conflict of interest.” Time Warner Inc., which has agreed to take over the Turner Broadcasting System, which owns CNN, is the second-largest cable operator and would benefit from a provision of the bill that would sharply deregulate cable rates.