Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) antitrust settlement for its $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks (JNPR) should be reconsidered for rejection, Colorado's Attorney General and 19 other states have asked a court, Reuters reported Friday.

The US Department of Justice, or DOJ, had initially sued to block the merger in order to protect competition in the country. DOJ later settled the case in June, under certain conditions requiring HP Enterprises to sell Juniper's artificial intelligence tech to competitors and divest a business unit.

In a letter, the Democratic attorneys general expressed concerns over the deal, which a former DOJ official had claimed was influenced by politically connected lobbyists, the report added.

"If, upon exposing the settlement to sunlight, the evidence establishes that it was the product of undue influence, then the court should reject it as against the public interest," wrote Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, according to the report.

Both HP Enterprises and Juniper did not respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

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