Constitutional Lawyers Urge AGs to Probe Paramount-Skydance's Millions to Trump

Constitutional lawyers on Thursday wrote to leading prosecutors in California and New York, urging them to open criminal investigations into the recent payments made or promised to U.S. President Donald Trump, his personal associates, or his special interests by Paramount Global and Skydance Media, whose $8 billion merger was approved by federal regulators last week.

"Relevant state and local officials of New York and California must fulfill their investigatory obligations to protect their residents, and to launch criminal investigations into those responsible for the extortion of Paramount and Skydance," said Courtney Hostetler, legal director at the nonprofit Free Speech for People (FSFP).

Hostetler and three of her FSFP colleagues—president John Bonifaz, chairman and senior legal adviser Ben Clements, and senior counsel Suparna Reddy—sent letters to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, New York state Attorney General Letitia James, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

They pointed to the Republican president's "baseless" $20 billion lawsuit against Paramount—whose subsidiaries include CBS—over a "60 Minutes" interview with former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who faced Trump in last year's election.

"While some of these payments ostensibly were made to settle a frivolous lawsuit brought by Trump against Paramount subsidiary CBS Broadcasting Inc., the evidence strongly suggests that the lawsuit and its settlement merely veiled Trump's true purposes—namely, to chill the freedom of the press and unlawfully extort payments and other things of value," the letters state.

Paramount settled at the beginning of the month, agreeing to pay "$16 million toward Trump's attorney fees and to fund his presidential library or purported charitable causes chosen by Trump," the letters detail. Then, Skydance met with the Federal Communications Commission about its acquisition of Paramount, and the FCC swiftly approved the megamerger.

According to the FSFP lawyers:

Now it appears that Paramount and Skydance may have taken other, unreported-to-the-court actions in order to secure FCC approval of the merger. Trump claimed that once the merger is approved, Skydance would contribute $20 million in advertising, public service announcements, or similar programming to Trump as part of a side deal to the $16 million settlement. And CBS canceled the popular program "The Late Show" after its host Stephen Colbert, a longtime critic of Trump (and indeed of many politicians), derided the settlement on air as "a big fat bribe." Trump posted on Truth Social that he "absolutely loves" "The Late Show's" cancellation. Paramount also agreed to hire an ombudsman at CBS News to investigate complaints of "political bias," which has the potential to limit journalistic freedom at CBS.

In addition to providing this background, the letters lay out the basis for "an immediate and thorough" probe, citing various laws in each state, and stress that "the immunity available to federal officials under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution is not available in all circumstances and does not preclude criminal investigation and prosecution here."

Although the letters do not name U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Trump loyalist has faced mounting allegations of "serious professional misconduct." Reddy suggested that she likely will not investigate the merger and related payments.

"States should not wait for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to act first," said Reddy. "While these schemes may also violate federal criminal statutes, the DOJ has been co-opted by Trump and cannot be depended upon to fulfill its obligation to impartially investigate."