{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-sanders-blumenthal-warn-that-warner-bros-sale-may-be-tainted-by-political-favoritism-and-corruption", "Warren, Sanders, Blumenthal Warn that Warner Bros. Sale May Be Tainted by Political Favoritism and Corruption", "2025-11-19", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", "warren", "https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Warren, Sanders, Blumenthal Warn that Warner Bros. Sale May Be Tainted by Political Favoritism and Corruption\n\nParamount Skydance made deals with Trump prior to gaining merger approval, now reportedly admin favorites to take over Warner Bros.\n\nSenators warn that botched merger review could raise costs, reduce choices for Americans\n\n\u201cThe American people deserve full confidence that the federal government is enforcing these laws independently, transparently, and free from political pressure or financial influence.\u201d\n\nText of Letter (PDF)\n\nWashington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in writing to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, warning that a potential Warner Bros. deal could be tainted by political favoritism and corruption. Warner Bros., in an upcoming formal auction process, is expected to receive bids from major media companies potentially including Paramount Skydance, Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and Comcast, raising the specter of a new, massive media giant that drives up costs and reduces choices for American families.\n\nRecent reporting revealed that the Trump administration prefers for Paramount Skydance to win the bid, raising questions of political favoritism. The close relationship between the Trump administration and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison could politicize the merger approval process. In July, the Trump administration approved the merger between Paramount and Skydance, just weeks after Paramount donated $16 million to Trump\u2019s Presidential Library \u2014 and after Ellison reportedly agreed to a secret \u201cside deal\u201d to run millions of dollars\u2019 worth of pro-Trump ads.\n\n\u201cThe Department of Justice (DOJ) must guarantee that any review of a potential Warner Bros. transaction is conducted transparently, independently, and in accordance with federal antitrust and anti-corruption laws \u2014 not politics,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201cRegardless of which bidder is selected, the combination of one of these companies with Warner Bros. would further consolidate the media market \u2014 risking higher prices and less variety for consumers.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers demanded that the review of any potential transaction involving Warner Bros. follow the law and avoid the taint of corruption and political favoritism. If the review is botched and a new media giant emerges, the company would have even more market power to raise costs at a time when working- and middle-class Americans are already being squeezed by skyrocketing costs across the board.\n\nTo ensure the DOJ review is fact-based and transparent, the senators are pressing for answers on interactions that might bias the transaction review process. In particular, the senators ask whether DOJ officials have discussed any matters related to a potential Warner Bros. transaction with lawyers, lobbyists, or consultants hired by Warner Bros. or any of the reported bidders. They also seek further clarification on whether conversations have been held with non-DOJ lawyers, as well as White House officials or Donald Trump, relating to transaction review at the DOJ, including a potential transaction involving Warner Bros.\n\n\u201cA transparent and lawful merger review process ensures that antitrust and public interest laws function as intended \u2014 to protect competitive markets, prevent concentration of power, and safeguard American families from higher prices and fewer choices,\u201d the lawmakers concluded. \u201cThe American people deserve full confidence that the federal government is enforcing these laws independently, transparently, and free from political pressure or financial influence.\u201d\n\nSenator Warren has consistently fought back against corrupt corporate media consolidation:\n\nOn October 10, 2025, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) questioned Skydance\u2019s refusal to address President Donald Trump\u2019s reported secret side deal.\n\nOn August 1, Senator Warren released a statement in response to Paramount\u2019s and Skydance\u2019s responses to her letters to each of the companies, describing the responses as \u201cdodgy\u201d and calling for \u201ca full, independent investigation\u201d into whether the companies or their executives engaged in any criminal behavior connected to the approval of the companies\u2019 multi-billion-dollar merger.\n\nOn July 24, Senator Warren responded to the Trump administration\u2019s approval of the Paramount-Skydance megamerger, saying \u201cbribery is illegal no matter who is president.\u201d\n\nOn July 23, Senator Warren published an op-ed in Variety: \u201cElizabeth Warren on Colbert 'Late Show' Cancellation: Is the Paramount Trump Payoff a Bribe?\u201d\n\nOn July 21, Senators Warren, Sanders (I-Vt.), and Wyden (D-Ore.) pressed David Ellison, CEO of Skydance, about reports of a secret deal between Skydance and President Trump\u2014and how it may be related to Paramount\u2019s recent multi-million-dollar settlement agreement with Trump.\n\nOn July 17, Senators Warren and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and lawmakers in Congress, unveiled the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act to close loopholes that allow presidential libraries to be used as tools for corruption and bribery.\n\nOn July 15, Senator Warren released a new report exposing how companies, special interests, and foreign governments may be pledging donations to President Trump\u2019s future Presidential Library as a corrupt tool to secure favorable outcomes from his administration.\n\nOn July 2, Senator Warren called for an investigation into Paramount\u2019s settlement with Trump.\n\nOn May 19, Senators Warren, Sanders, and Wyden wrote to Shari Redstone, Chair of Paramount, with concerns regarding whether Paramount may be engaging in potentially illegal conduct involving the Trump Administration in exchange for approval of its megamerger with Skydance.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-sanders-blumenthal-warn-that-warner-bros-sale-may-be-tainted-by-political-favoritism-and-corruption"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5378533862531185, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}