{"id":2581771,"date":"2026-03-19T14:18:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T18:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-antitrust-chief-denies-paramount-wbd-merger-review-is-political-move\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T18:20:08","slug":"doj-antitrust-chief-denies-paramount-wbd-merger-review-is-political-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-antitrust-chief-denies-paramount-wbd-merger-review-is-political-move\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ antitrust chief denies Paramount-WBD merger review is political move"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-antitrust-chief-denies-paramount-wbd-merger-review-is-political-move%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2581771&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department\u2019s Antitrust division says politics will not influence the review of the Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger. In a Reuters interview, Omeed Assefi stated that Paramount will not recieve a political pass and that the inquiry has been fair and thorough, citing Netflix\u2019s experience as an example. The DOJ\u2019s antitrust review is examining potential anticompetitive effects, including whether the deal could raise streaming prices, a concern lawmakers have raised in the past. If approved, the merger would consolidate Paramount+ with HBO Max into a single <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/siriusxm-pandora-cmt-iheartradio-pull-morgan-wallen-music-following-n-word-video-recorded-by-neighbor\/\" title=\"SiriusXM, Pandora, CMT, iHeartRadio Pull Morgan Wallen Music Following N-Word Video Recorded By Neighbor\">streaming service<\/a>, with CEO David Ellison aiming for a closing by the third quarter of 2026, though the timeline depends on the DOJ review and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >potential state litigation<\/a>. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is also reviewing the deal for possible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-descend-into-twitter-war-with-amazon\/\" title=\"Democrats Descend into Twitter War With Amazon\">antitrust concerns<\/a>. Assefi recently took over the role after his predecessor Gail Slater resigned.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Acting DOJ antitrust chief denies Paramount-WBD merger will be approved for political reasons<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2504776\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-announces-actions-against-bogus-covid-19-cures\/\" title=\"DOJ Announces Actions Against Bogus COVID-19 Cures\">acting assistant attorney general<\/a> of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"167\">Justice Department&rsquo;s<\/a> Antitrust Division denied on Wednesday that politics will play a role in the federal review of the pending <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mergers-and-acquisitions\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"616\">merger<\/a> between <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/paramount\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"16440\">Paramount Skydance<\/a> and Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have raised concerns about the perceived political ties between President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> and Paramount CEO David Ellison. His father, Larry Ellison, is a close Trump ally who&rsquo;s heavily backing the merger with his own money.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4490970\/hegseth-paramount-ceo-overhaul-cnn-warner-bros\/\">Hegseth wishes Paramount CEO will overhaul CNN in Warner Bros. merger<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4477563\/trump-brands-own-healthcare-reform\/\">The president brands his own healthcare reform<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4489266\/why-not-panican-over-oil-markets-iran-war\/\">Why I&#8217;m not &#8216;Panican&#8217; over oil markets<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/doj-antitrust-head-says-paramountwarner-bros-deal-review-is-not-political-2026-03-18\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/doj-antitrust-head-says-paramountwarner-bros-deal-review-is-not-political-2026-03-18\/\">new interview<\/a> with <em>Reuters<\/em>, acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi said Paramount will &ldquo;absolutely not&rdquo; receive a pass during the approval process for political reasons.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The idea that somehow enforcement has been politicized is ludicrous,&rdquo; he said without sharing specific details of the ongoing review.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think even Ted Sarandos has been very vocal about the fact that he had a very open and &#8203;fair and thorough review under us,&rdquo; the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/antitrust\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1187\">antitrust<\/a> official added, referring to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/netflix\/\">Netflix co-CEO<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The streaming service ultimately backed out of the WBD bidding war, letting Paramount take the win. Ellison is now focused on getting his company&rsquo;s bid across the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ is currently probing the merger for anticompetitive issues, specifically whether the deal will raise streaming prices for consumers. That was a major concern for federal lawmakers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-include-money-for-abortion-providers-in-1-9-trillion-covid-aid-package\/\" title=\"Dems Include Money for Abortion Providers in .9 Trillion COVID Aid Package\">state attorneys general<\/a> regarding Netflix&rsquo;s now-failed bid to acquire WBD.<\/p>\n<p>If finalized, the Paramount-WBD merger is expected to raise streaming prices through market consolidation. In a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/03\/05\/cnbc-exclusive-transcript-paramount-skydance-ceo-david-ellison-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-on-the-street-today.html\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/03\/05\/cnbc-exclusive-transcript-paramount-skydance-ceo-david-ellison-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-on-the-street-today.html\">recent interview<\/a> with CNBC, Ellison declined to comment on pricing but confirmed that Paramount+ and HBO Max will combine into one streaming service.<\/p>\n<p>He expects the deal to close by the third quarter of 2026, but that depends on whether it is held up by the DOJ review or state-level litigation. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is currently investigating the merger and exploring the possibility of an antitrust lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4490970\/hegseth-paramount-ceo-overhaul-cnn-warner-bros\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/business\/4490970\/hegseth-paramount-ceo-overhaul-cnn-warner-bros\/\">HEGSETH WISHES PARAMOUNT CEO WILL OVERHAUL CNN IN WARNER BROS. MERGER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Adding to the perception of the Trump administration&rsquo;s favoritism toward Paramount, War Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1991\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> said at an unrelated press conference last week that he hopes the Paramount CEO will take over and overhaul <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cnn\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"732\">CNN<\/a> as part of the acquisition. WBD owns the news outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Assefi assumed the DOJ antitrust role after his full-time predecessor, Gail Slater, resigned last month for undisclosed reasons. Slater&rsquo;s office was in the middle of the merger review when she left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DOJ chief says politics won&#8217;t sway Paramount-WBD review<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2581772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP25351734191177.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5509,16353,54802,68238],"class_list":["post-2581771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-antitrust","tag-merger","tag-paramount-2","tag-wbd"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP25351734191177.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2581771"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2581775,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581771\/revisions\/2581775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2581772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2581771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2581771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2581771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}