Two House Democrats are the latest lawmakers seeking details of how the Paramount–Skydance merger cleared the FCC shortly after a $16 million settlement of Donald Trump‘s lawsuit against CBS.In a letter to Paramount CEO David Ellison, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) are seeking a copy of the lawsuit settlement agreement “and a copy of all related communications involving the President, employees or representatives of the White House or the FCC, employees or representatives of the Trump Organization, or any other individual acting on behalf of Donald Trump or the Trump Organization.” They also are asking for answers to a number of other questions related to the merger, including Ellison’s conversations with Trump.Pallone and Raskin also raised other issues, including CBS’s decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, announced just days before the FCC approval, and the departure of Bill Owens as executive producer of 60 Minutes.The Democratic lawmakers wrote, “Two wrongs do not make a right—illegitimate demands from the FCC or the Administration do not absolve your company from wrongdoing. If Skydance offered a side deal of up to $20 million worth of advertisement or programming to President Trump in order to receive regulatory approval for the merger with Paramount, these actions would run afoul of federal and state anti-bribery statutes. Similarly, if Paramount forced out CBS’s longtime leaders, spent $16 million to settle a sham lawsuit with President Trump, or canceled a highly popular comedy show that President Trump dislikes in order to curry favor with the Administration and to receive regulatory approval for the merger with Skydance, these actions would likely further embolden President Trump to use lawsuits and regulatory authority to attack media organizations that he finds objectionable in order to silence them.”The letter raises some of the same issues raised by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who queried Skydance over the merger and raised the prospect that anti-bribery laws may have been violated. Although executives from Skydance and pre-merger Paramount have responded to previous letters, Democrats have continued to raise issues about the transaction. Earlier this week, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr over his interactions with the White House, among other things.Raskin is the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Pallone is the top Democrat on the House Energy & Commerce Committee.Skydance General Counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon responded to the senators’ letter last month, writing that “throughout its history and during the review of the proposed acquisition of Paramount, Skydance has fully complied with all applicable laws, including our nation’s anti-bribery laws.”McKinnon also noted that it “was neither a party to the lawsuit nor to Paramount’s settlement of its litigation with the president.” She also wrote that Skydance was not involved in the decision to cancel Colbert, a call that was made before the merger deal closed. CBS has maintained that the cancellation decision was “purely financial.”The two Democrats also pressed Ellison on Trump’s claim that the lawsuit settlement included an additional $16 million in public service announcement advertising airtime. The president later said that they “anticipate” a higher figure, of $20 million, from the new owners.When Trump’s claim first surfaced, pre-merger Paramount said that its board did not approve was any such “side deal,” and that they had “no knowledge” of any such commitments. Ellison and McKinnon have not directly addressed whether there was any such deal, but in a story on Shari Redstone earlier this week, The New York Times reported that a Skydance lawyer disputed the existence of such an ad commitment.A spokesperson for Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest letter.
© 2025 Deadline.