IG must investigate Paramount gifts to FCC officials
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Office of Inspector General must investigate whether FCC commissioners were appropriately authorized to accept gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from Paramount and whether their acceptance, regardless of any authorization, violated their ethical duties, according to a complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The commissioners are responsible for regulating Paramount, and accepted the gifts six months after approving an $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance Media, while Paramount Skydance has been seeking to next acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
According to a ProPublica report, FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty attended the Kennedy Center Honors Gala in December 2025. Chair Carr and his wife reportedly attended the event in a private skybox with Paramount’s CEO, in seats valued at $125,000 per ticket. Commissioner Trusty and a guest reportedly accepted tickets to the event from Paramount worth more than $12,000. In July 2025, Chair Carr and Commissioner Trusty voted to approve the Paramount Skydance merger. Since then, Paramount Skydance has been pursuing acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued at up to $110 billion that would reportedly award 49.5 percent of the equity in the parent company of CBS, CNN, and 28 broadcast television stations into the hands of three foreign governments. That merger is similarly subject to regulatory approvals, including a request for FCC review of its foreign investment component.
“Ethics rules are simple. Agency officials aren’t allowed to accept gifts from the companies they regulate,” said CREW President Donald K. Sherman. “The public should always be able to trust that the government is working in our best interests, not the interests of corporations with inside influence. In this case, that trust is in doubt and the IG needs to investigate.”
The Standards of Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch Employees prohibit employees of the executive branch from accepting gifts, including entertainment and event tickets, from “prohibited sources.” Because Paramount is regulated by the FCC, it constitutes a prohibited source. Exceptions to this rule can apply, but approval must be provided in advance of the event from an agency ethics official and it isn’t clear what advice or authorization was given. Regardless of potential exceptions, agency officials have a duty to avoid any behavior, including acceptance of gifts, that could create an appearance that they are acting unethically.
“Government officials have the power to make decisions that impact huge swaths of the American people. This merger, if approved, could reportedly affect how Americans get their news, cause people to lose their jobs and have national security implications,” said Sherman. “With this tremendous power comes a higher ethical standard that apparently wasn’t met. The IG can and must get answers for the public.”