Friday, July 25 — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued the following statement today blasting the Trump administration approval of the $8 billion Paramount-Skydance merger. 

     “The Trump administration just approved Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance. This looks like bribery and corruption, and I’ll tell you why.

      “Let’s rewind to 2024 when Trump sued CBS. At the time, CBS called this “meritless.” Three months later, Trump became president. And instead of fighting the case, CBS’s parent company, Paramount, settled the lawsuit.

       “Right out in public, they handed $16 million directly into some future Trump presidential library.

       “Why would Paramount fold when it looked like they were going to win this case? This merger was in talks at the time. And who needed to approve that deal for it to go through? Donald Trump’s government.

       “This fishy settlement was what Colbert called out on The Late Show last week. Then his show was coincidentally canceled three days later. They said this was a “purely financial decision.” Sure…

       “I’ve been investigating Paramount’s potential corruption for months. Now that this deal has gone through, I’m calling for an urgent, independent investigation into any criminal behavior.”