Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) are again pressing Paramount CEO David Ellison on whether there was any “side deal” with Donald Trump in advance of FCC approval of Skydance‘s acquisition of the legacy media company.
In advance of the FCC’s approval, Paramount Global settled Trump’s lawsuit against CBS and 60 Minutes over the way that an interview with Kamala Harris was edited. The settlement was for $16 million, to fund Trump’s presidential library, as well as attorneys fees and costs.
But the senators have previously questioned Ellison over Trump’s claims that there was an additional sum agreed to, of $16 million or more, to fund public service announcements and advertising commitments. Pre-transaction Paramount Global denied they made such a side deal, while Skydance general counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon wrote to the senators last summer that the company “has fully complied with all applicable laws, including our nation’s anti-bribery laws.”
In their latest letter, sent on Thursday, Warren and the other senators said that they found the responses incomplete. They wrote, “In the inquiry we sent to you, we warned that under the federal bribery statute, it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value to federal officials to influence an official act, and the existence of a side deal with the President to facilitate merger approval may violate anti-bribery laws.
“In your July 31 response, you refused to answer any questions about the existence of a side deal with President Trump, stating only that ‘Skydance executives and its representatives have had routine and customary interactions with government officials, including with the Administration, Congress, and federal regulators.’”
Warren and the other senators want Ellison to answer a series of questions by Oct. 23, including contacts with specific administration officials, and to answer whether there was “any arrangement — either a formal written agreement or an ‘unwritten understanding’ — under which you, Skydance, or any entity affiliated with Skydance or the new Paramount will provide compensation, advertising or promotional activities that in any way assist President Trump, his family, his Presidential Library, or other administration officials.”
Last summer, in the midst of publicity about the Skydance-Paramount deal and its pending regulatory approval, Warren and other congressional Democrats introduced the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act, which would require that presidents wait until after they leave office before fundraising or accepting donations.
A Paramount spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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