FCC Commissioners Face Ethics Complaints for Taking Luxury Gifts from Paramount

7 hours ago

Two watchdog groups—Democracy Defenders Fund and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington—filed complaints against FCC commissioners for accepting luxury gala tickets from Paramount while the company sought approval for its $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition.
A ProPublica investigation revealed that seven FCC commissioners since 2016 accepted over $260,000 in Kennedy Center honors gala tickets from CBS or Paramount, including Chair Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty.
Carr and Trusty accepted tickets worth thousands of dollars, with Carr sitting in a $125,000-per-ticket skybox with Paramount executives, despite voting to approve a previous Paramount merger.
Federal ethics rules prohibit employees from accepting gifts from entities that do business with or seek official action from their agency, leading experts to say the gifts compromised FCC impartiality.
The complaints request investigations into whether Carr and Trusty violated gift rules or criminal laws, and seek to disqualify Carr from decisions on the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.
The proposed merger faces legal opposition from states, the Writers Guild, and other groups; Paramount has agreed to pause the deal until litigation is resolved or until 2027.

FCC commissioners have accepted expensive Kennedy Center gala tickets from CBS/Paramount, raising ethical concerns.
Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Brendan Carr accepted tickets worth thousands of dollars after voting on or overseeing Paramount-related mergers.
Ethics experts argue this creates a clear conflict of interest, compromising FCC impartiality in pending merger decisions.

Paramount's $111 billion merger with Warner Bros paused by a 14-day restraining order from a California antitrust lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by California and 11 other states, argues the merger would harm competition, raise prices, and cause layoffs.
The delay could be extended and potentially kill the deal, especially as Paramount faces a $7 million daily 'ticking fee' from September 30.

A federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order halting the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, which could be extended to 28 days.
A 12-state coalition, led by California, argues the merger violates antitrust laws, potentially leading to higher prices, fewer movies/TV shows, and reduced competition in cable and theatrical markets.
The judge set a preliminary injunction hearing for August 3, noting serious legal questions and that the public interest favors blocking the merger while the case proceeds.

A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, is suing to block the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The lawsuit alleges the deal violates the Clayton Act by potentially lessening competition in wide release theatrical film distribution, top-grossing movie distribution, and basic cable licensing.
The merger would combine major film studios and streaming platforms (Paramount+ and HBO Max) and create a large TV network portfolio, including CBS, MTV, CNN, and HBO.

Liberal anti-Trump lawyers are assisting Nexstar's corrupt merger with TEGNA to create a media censorship machine while violating a court order.
The merger would give Nexstar-TEGNA control over 265 TV stations in 44 states, reaching 80% of households, and has already led to price hikes and journalist layoffs.
Nexstar demanded Disney remove Jimmy Kimmel to gain favorable FCC and Antitrust Division treatment for the merger, which Trump supported.

FCC commissioners have accepted expensive Kennedy Center gala tickets from CBS/Paramount, raising ethical concerns.
Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Brendan Carr accepted tickets worth thousands of dollars after voting on or overseeing Paramount-related mergers.
Ethics experts argue this creates a clear conflict of interest, compromising FCC impartiality in pending merger decisions.

Paramount's $111 billion merger with Warner Bros paused by a 14-day restraining order from a California antitrust lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by California and 11 other states, argues the merger would harm competition, raise prices, and cause layoffs.
The delay could be extended and potentially kill the deal, especially as Paramount faces a $7 million daily 'ticking fee' from September 30.

A federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order halting the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, which could be extended to 28 days.
A 12-state coalition, led by California, argues the merger violates antitrust laws, potentially leading to higher prices, fewer movies/TV shows, and reduced competition in cable and theatrical markets.
The judge set a preliminary injunction hearing for August 3, noting serious legal questions and that the public interest favors blocking the merger while the case proceeds.

A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, is suing to block the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The lawsuit alleges the deal violates the Clayton Act by potentially lessening competition in wide release theatrical film distribution, top-grossing movie distribution, and basic cable licensing.
The merger would combine major film studios and streaming platforms (Paramount+ and HBO Max) and create a large TV network portfolio, including CBS, MTV, CNN, and HBO.

Liberal anti-Trump lawyers are assisting Nexstar's corrupt merger with TEGNA to create a media censorship machine while violating a court order.
The merger would give Nexstar-TEGNA control over 265 TV stations in 44 states, reaching 80% of households, and has already led to price hikes and journalist layoffs.
Nexstar demanded Disney remove Jimmy Kimmel to gain favorable FCC and Antitrust Division treatment for the merger, which Trump supported.

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