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Two U.S. House Democrats asked Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison on Tuesday to reveal whether he or the company offered to alter CNN’s coverage of President Donald Trump in exchange for regulatory approval of its tie-up with Warner Bros. Discovery.
In a letter first reported by Reuters, Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) warned that the deal would dangerously concentrate media power and expose more outlets to presidential influence.
“It is clear that President Trump expects your potential ownership of Warner to produce favorable press coverage for him and his allies,” the lawmakers wrote. They also accused Ellison of already tailoring CBS News coverage to the president’s liking following the Paramount Skydance merger.
The Democrats are seeking records of any donations to Trump causes or interests and any communications related to influencing news coverage at CBS or CNN. In November, the same lawmakers accused Paramount of “stonewalling congressional oversight” after requesting documents tied to the FCC’s review of the merger.
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| David Ellison |
The $8.4 billion Skydance-Paramount merger, which won a bidding war against Netflix, is expected to close in the third quarter.
As part of the FCC approval process, Skydance agreed to ensure CBS News and entertainment programming remain free of bias, hire an ombudsman for at least two years to review complaints, and end diversity initiatives.
Paramount also paid $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit against CBS over its editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris.Trump has pressured the FCC to target media companies he views as unfair. Lawmakers and the sole Democrat on the FCC have called for closer scrutiny of the deal, particularly after Paramount sought a waiver for significant foreign investment backing the acquisition.