House Democrats probe Paramount-Skydance merger over Trump dealings

Two apical House Democrats are investigating whether Paramount and Skydance Media acquiesced to "illegitimate demands" from President Donald Trump successful bid to triumph support for their $8 cardinal merger.

"Two wrongs bash not marque a right," Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Frank Pallone of New Jersey wrote to David Ellison, CEO of the recently formed Paramount Skydance Corporation, successful a missive obtained by CNBC.

"Illegitimate demands from the [Federal Communications Commission] oregon the Administration bash not absolve your institution from wrongdoing," wrote Raskin and Pallone, the apical Democrats connected the House Judiciary and Energy committees, respectively.

The FCC blessed the merger successful precocious July, little than a period aft Paramount agreed to a $16 cardinal colony to extremity Trump's suit against its subsidiary CBS News implicit a snippet of a "60 Minutes" interview. The president had claimed the interrogation was deceptively edited to boost his then-campaign rival, Kamala Harris.

The suit was wide criticized arsenic meritless, including by Paramount, which maintained that the amusement followed a modular editing process.

"The colony raises important concerns that Donald Trump demanded and Paramount paid an amerciable bribe—a $16 cardinal outgo to the President successful speech for merger support from the FCC," the lawmakers' missive read.

"For some Paramount and Skydance to acquiesce to President Trump's meritless claims successful bid to consummate the merger demonstrates an utmost disregard to thing that mightiness basal successful the mode of profit," they wrote.

Paramount Skydance did not instantly respond to CNBC's petition for remark connected the letter.

The letter, dated Wednesday, gives Paramount 2 weeks to reply questions and supply a slew of interior materials, including "all related communications involving" Trump, the White House, the FCC and the Trump Organization.

The lawmakers suggest that Paramount and Skydance, done their dealings with Trump, person violated anti-bribery and corruption clauses successful the agreements they filed with the FCC.

Raskin and Pallone besides noted that Trump, portion boasting astir the settlement, claimed helium besides expects to get different $20 million successful "Advertising, PSAs, oregon akin Programming" from the "new Owners."

News outlets person reported that Skydance sources contradict Trump's assertion. But the House Democrats cite reporting that indicates "there is grounds that you had aggregate conversations with the President starring up to the woody being approved by the FCC."

The reported "side deal" with Trump "was needfully contingent connected the FCC approving the woody and does not look to contiguous immoderate morganatic worth to the public, lone to President Trump," they wrote.

"Therefore, this appears to beryllium an connection of outgo and benefits to a authorities authoritative designed to execute a circumstantial result from the government—in different words, a bribe," the missive reads.

Raskin and Pallone besides constituent to CBS' caller cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the tentpole speech amusement whose host, a vocal Trump critic, called Paramount's colony a "big abdominous bribe."

And they enactment reporting that Skydance "agreed to marque changes to CBS and its editorial practices that align with the Trump Administration's governmental agenda" arsenic a information of the merger.

That includes hiring an ombudsman "to constabulary the quality organization's editorial choices," which the lawmakers called "a poorly disguised effort astatine censoring code that contradicts the Administration's ideals."

At the clip the FCC approved the merger, Chairman Brendan Carr said successful a connection that Skydance had made "written commitments to guarantee that the caller company's programming embodies a diverseness of viewpoints from crossed the governmental and ideological spectrum."

Carr added that the support of the merger marked a measurement guardant successful the FCC's efforts to destruct DEI efforts.