House Democrats have ignited a political firestorm with their investigation into the $8 billion merger between Paramount Global and Skydance Media—a deal that has swiftly become a lightning rod for allegations of political interference, improper payments, and threats to press freedom. The inquiry, announced on August 22, 2025, by Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Frank Pallone of New Jersey, zeroes in on whether the companies made “illegitimate demands” to President Donald Trump in exchange for regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which greenlit the merger in July.
The controversy stems from a series of complex, high-stakes maneuvers that unfolded in the weeks leading up to the merger’s approval. Paramount, parent company to CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, and an iconic movie studio, agreed to a $16 million settlement with Trump in July 2025. The settlement resolved a lawsuit in which Trump accused CBS of interfering in the 2024 election by editing a ‘60 Minutes’ interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris. According to The New York Times, Paramount stated the $16 million—after legal costs—would be donated to Trump’s presidential library. The agreement also required Paramount to cover Trump’s legal fees and to release transcripts of ‘60 Minutes’ interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after airing, subject to legal and national security redactions. Notably, the settlement did not include an apology to Trump.
But the settlement’s details only scratch the surface. Trump publicly claimed that Skydance, led by CEO David Ellison, agreed to provide him with millions of dollars’ worth of free public service announcements (PSAs) as part of the merger deal. Raskin and Pallone, in a sharply worded letter to Ellison released Thursday, called for the company to hand over a trove of documentation—everything from the Trump settlement agreement and related communications to internal emails about any “side deals” for advertising, PSAs, or policy changes. They pressed for full transparency, writing, “Two wrongs do not make a right—illegitimate demands from the FCC or the administration do not absolve your company from wrongdoing.”
Adding to the intrigue, the FCC’s approval of the merger was praised by Chairman Brendan Carr, who cited major concessions from Skydance—including a promise to eliminate Paramount’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. This move drew sharp criticism from Democrats, who argue that it represents a politicization of the regulatory process. According to Fox News Digital, Carr also celebrated the cancellation of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ a program openly disliked by Trump, shortly after Colbert criticized the settlement on-air as a “big fat bribe.” The timing of the show’s cancellation only fueled suspicions that editorial decisions at CBS were being influenced by political considerations tied to the merger.
Shari Redstone, the former controlling shareholder for Paramount, defended the company’s decision to settle with Trump. “I believe it was always in Paramount’s best interest to settle,” Redstone told The New York Times during the week of August 18–22, 2025. “We may not like the world we live in, but a board has to do what’s in the best interest of shareholders.” She described the settlement as a “no-brainer,” emphasizing her focus on shareholder value rather than the political optics of the deal.
Yet for congressional Democrats, the optics are impossible to ignore. The letter from Raskin and Pallone laid out a sweeping mandate to scrutinize “the connection between Skydance’s offers made to the President prior to closing the deal, Paramount’s settlement of a sham lawsuit that enriches the President, and regulatory approval of the merger.” The lawmakers also questioned whether Skydance had agreed to install an ombudsman to “root out bias” at CBS as part of the merger’s conditions, a move they see as a possible attempt to police editorial content and suppress viewpoints critical of Trump.
The investigation has drawn support from other high-profile Democrats. Senator Adam Schiff of California sent his own letter to FCC Chairman Carr earlier in the week, seeking clarification on the agency’s “terms and conditions for approving” the merger and any role played by Trump or his associates. Schiff expressed alarm that the FCC—an independent regulatory agency—might have become “a vehicle for President Trump to exact personal retribution and undermine the freedom of the press.” He warned that if the approval process was influenced by Trump, it would set “a dangerous precedent of political interference in and corruption of the FCC’s merger approval process.”
Despite the mounting questions, neither Paramount Skydance nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment, according to Bloomberg and MSNBC. FCC Chairman Carr, for his part, dismissed Schiff’s concerns, telling Fox News Digital, “Once again, Adam Schiff is pressing false accusations to distract from his misdeeds and divert press attention away from the great wins President Trump is delivering for the American people.”
The stakes of the inquiry extend beyond the fate of a single merger. Raskin and Pallone warned that if the allegations are true, they “would likely further embolden President Trump to use lawsuits and regulatory authority to attack media organizations that he finds objectionable in order to silence them.” They also noted that such actions “would be illegal, running afoul of federal and state anti-bribery statutes.” A separate probe into possible bribery has reportedly been launched by officials in California, underscoring the seriousness with which these allegations are being treated.
Congressional oversight, however, faces practical hurdles. As Bloomberg reported, Raskin and Pallone would need Republican support to compel answers with subpoenas—support that, at present, appears unlikely. That could change if Democrats regain control of the House in the 2026 elections, giving them the power to force disclosure of the sought-after documents and communications.
The drama is also playing out against a broader backdrop of tension between the Trump administration and the media. FCC Chairman Carr has made no secret of his willingness to block mergers involving companies with DEI policies and has been accused by critics of weaponizing the commission against outlets that have drawn Trump’s ire. The current investigation, then, is not just about one merger, but about the future of media regulation, editorial independence, and the boundaries between business, politics, and the press in America.
As the probe unfolds, one thing is clear: the Paramount-Skydance merger has become a flashpoint in the ongoing battle over the role of politics in media ownership and regulation. With Democrats vowing to keep the pressure on and new revelations potentially on the horizon, the story is far from over—and the implications could reverberate across the industry for years to come.
