Trump's DOJ closes Paramount-Warner probe before staff could object

On June 12, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department closed its antitrust investigation of Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the deal at the federal level. According to The Wall Street Journal, the department's senior leadership ended the inquiry before the career antitrust lawyers reviewing it, who were leaning toward recommending a lawsuit to block the combination of the two film studios as anticompetitive, had submitted a formal recommendation; senior leaders credited a two-hour interview with Paramount chief executive David Ellison and concluded the company's debt load was not grounds to challenge the merger. The same day, the department issued a public statement calling the merger pro-competitive, which some antitrust staff believed was designed to make it harder for state attorneys general to challenge the deal; California Attorney General Rob Bonta had been reviewing the bid and leaning toward a challenge. The acquisition would bring Warner Bros. Discovery's CNN and HBO alongside Paramount's CBS under the control of Paramount chairman David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison. CNN employees and outside observers have questioned whether the network's editorial independence would be preserved under common ownership with CBS. The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2025 that Mr. Ellison had assured Trump administration officials he would make sweeping changes to CNN, a frequent target of the president, if he acquired Warner Bros. Discovery, and that Trump had told associates he wanted new ownership and programming changes at the network; Paramount did not respond to the assertion at the time.