Warren, Sanders, Wyden Investigate Skydance’s Role in Potential Secret Trump Payoff Connected to Paramount Deal
Skydance reportedly set up secret side deal with Trump worth tens of millions more dollars, with potential Skydance/Paramount merger pending Trump admin approval
“These reports raise fresh questions about corruption in the Trump Administration and President Trump’s willingness to accept payments from entities with significant policy interests before agencies he controls.”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) pressed David Ellison, CEO of Skydance Media, about reports of a secret deal between Skydance and President Trump — and how it may be related to Paramount’s recent multi-million-dollar settlement agreement with Trump. The settlement, which comes as Skydance and Paramount await approval from the Trump administration for their proposed mega-merger, has raised concerns about potential bribery.
“These reports raise fresh questions about corruption in the Trump Administration and President Trump’s willingness to accept payments from entities with significant policy interests before agencies he controls,” wrote the senators.
In May, following reports of a potential settlement in Paramount’s legal battle with President Trump, the senators wrote to the company with concerns that its attempt to settle President Trump’s “meritless” lawsuit for tens of millions of dollars, while approval for its $8 billion merger with Skydance is pending in front of the Trump administration, could be construed as bribery.
Despite the senators’ warnings, on July 2, Paramount settled with President Trump for $16 million, at least part of which will go toward his Presidential Library fund. But President Trump himself revealed that the arrangement is worth more than the initially announced $16 million, leading to reports of a back-door deal with President Trump. Reporting suggests that a secret side deal with Skydance may include public service announcements “and other broadcast transmissions” worth between $15 million and $20 million that “support conservative causes supported by President Trump.”
On July 17, CBS announced it was canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, just days after the host criticized Paramount’s $16 million settlement with President Trump on his show and said the deal resembled bribery.
The senators asked Skydance to answer questions related to whether Skydance’s actions comply with federal anti-bribery laws, including about the contents of the secret deal with President Trump, whether the deal’s participants discussed the pending Paramount-Skydance transaction, and whether Skydance executives were involved in the decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, by August 4.
The $16 million Paramount settlement will largely go straight to President Trump’s Presidential Library fund — along with the money from other settlements by tech and media companies, including ABC. Senator Warren, alongside Senator Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), last week introduced the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act, new legislation to close loopholes that allow presidential libraries to be used as tools for corruption and bribery.
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