DOJ Officials Allegedly Skirted Antitrust Concerns in Merger Approval
WHO:
Variety - David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, hosted an event in D.C. "honoring" Trump in April.
Variety - Senior officials at the Justice Department, including the acting head of the Antitrust Division, Omeed Assefi, and Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr.
Common Dreams - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), David Ellison (CEO of Paramount Skydance), and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
WHAT:
Common Dreams - The Block the Merger coalition, an alliance of organizations opposed to the deal, stated, "When we said this is what corruption looks like, this is what we meant."
Common Dreams - California's Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that "the merger of Warner Bros and Paramount is not a done deal and remains under investigation by my office."
Variety - The Justice Department moved to close the antitrust investigation into Paramount’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Common Dreams - The DOJ issued a statement supporting the merger before career antitrust attorneys could finish their scrutiny, stating the transaction is not likely to harm competition or American consumers.
Variety - The DOJ's Antitrust Division announced it was closing the Paramount-WBD probe without imposing any requirements for divestitures or other concessions.
Variety - Paramount executives anticipate achieving more than $6 billion in cost savings through the merger.
WHERE:
Variety - The merger involves Paramount assets including CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, and Paramount+, along with WBD’s HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros. Pictures, CNN, TNT, TBS, and HGTV.
WHEN:
Variety - The companies expect to face litigation from state attorneys general "in the coming weeks."
Variety - The companies expect to close the merger by September 2026.
Variety - The European Commission set a provisional deadline of July 14 for vetting the deal under the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation.
Variety - The EU has a July 7 deadline for investigating potential anticompetitive issues under standard merger rules.
Variety - The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority initiated an investigation into the proposed deal on June 9.
WHY:
Variety - Some staffers in the DOJ's antitrust division believe the DOJ's statement backing the merger was designed to make it harder for state attorneys general to challenge the deal in court.
Variety - Career lawyers in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division were reportedly leaning toward recommending a lawsuit to block the merger due to concerns it would be anticompetitive and violate antitrust law.
Common Dreams - The DOJ leadership's decision to clear the deal has drawn suspicion, with accusations of political interference and favoritism.
HOW:
Variety - The DOJ's Antitrust Division conducted an investigation to assess whether the proposed transaction would harm competition, ultimately concluding it would increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem.
Common Dreams - The DOJ's statement backing the merger was reportedly designed to make it harder for state attorneys general to challenge the deal in court.
(UPDATED June 16, 2026 21:53 UTC)
David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, recently hosted an event in Washington, D.C., honoring Trump. Meanwhile, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta emphasized that the merger of Warner Bros and Paramount is still under investigation and not finalized, as the Block the Merger coalition voiced their concerns about potential corruption. Both companies are bracing for litigation from state attorneys general in the coming weeks, as some staffers in the DOJ's antitrust division suspect that the department's support for the merger may complicate challenges in court.
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(UPDATED June 16, 2026 20:13 UTC)
The Justice Department has moved to close its antitrust investigation into Paramount's $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, with senior officials stating that the merger is unlikely to harm competition or American consumers. Paramount executives expect to achieve over $6 billion in cost savings through this deal, which involves major assets like CBS, HBO, and CNN, and they anticipate finalizing the merger by September 2026. However, the decision has raised eyebrows, as career lawyers within the DOJ were reportedly leaning toward recommending a lawsuit to block the merger due to antitrust concerns, leading to accusations of political interference in the process.