Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ripped into the Department of Justice’s recent sign-off on the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal, calling on state attorneys general to “block this merger.”
Shortly after the DOJ confirmed that the WarnerMount merger had been cleared on Friday, Warren took to X to voice her displeasure, writing in a statement, “This is terrible news for every American who doesn’t want Trump-aligned billionaires to control what they watch and how much they pay.”
She continued: “The Paramount-Warner Bros. deal has reeked of corruption and influence-peddling. This fight isn’t over. State AGs must block this merger.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta downplayed the DOJ’s decision Friday on X, assuring the merger is “not a done deal … and remains under investigation by my office.
Warren’s stance against the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger is well known, with the Massachusetts senator calling for a national security review of the deal on more than one occasion. In March, Warren, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), once again demanded that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (a.k.a. CFIUS) to investigate to see if there was any national security risks that could arise from the deal.
“Given the cloud of corruption surrounding the Trump administration’s review of this deal from Day One, it’s no surprise that Trump’s Treasury Department is sticking its head in the sand instead of investigating the national security risks of $24 billion from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds apparently flooding this deal,” Warren said at the time. “It’s American consumers who will pay the price. Thanks to Donald Trump, a Paramount-Warner Bros. merger could mean higher prices and fewer choices, and might allow foreign actors to control what’s on our screens or access our private viewing information.”
Still, despite the public pushback from Democratic politicians, Hollywood unions and Bonta, Paramount overcame one of the remaining hurdles in closing its $110-billion deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
In a statement on Friday, the DOJ said that the transaction is “not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers” based on the evidence received over the course of an eight-month investigation.
It noted that it received over 2 million documents from over 80 parties, “substantial productions” of data, as well as extensive documents, data and advocacy from third parties across the media and entertainment ecosystem. State attorneys general also participated in the investigation, which allowed it to share information with the DOJ and vice versa and attend related depositions.
The DOJ’s statement also noted: “The extensive investigatory record reviewed by the Division suggests that the impact of the transaction will be to increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem, with benefits for American consumers and workers.”
In response to the update, a Paramount spokesperson told TheWrap, “We are grateful for the Department of Justice’s thorough review of this transaction, as well as the work of the other agencies that have completed their reviews and provided clearance to date.”
The spokesperson continued: “This deal is pro-competitive, resulting in a stronger company better positioned to compete against dominant technology platforms in an industry increasingly defined by intense competition for audiences, talent, technology, and investment. We remain focused on completing the transaction as soon as possible and delivering its benefits to consumers, creators, and the entertainment industry as a whole.”
