California Attorney General vows to continue investigating Paramount-Warner merger for antitrust violations

California AG Rob Bonta said the Paramount-Warner merger "is not a done deal" hours after the DOJ approved the acquisition.

Objective Facts

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday that the proposed Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger "is not a done deal" hours after the DOJ approved the multi-billion-dollar acquisition. Bonta wrote that "the merger of Warner Bros and Paramount is not a done deal and remains under investigation by my office" and California's attorney general has authority to investigate the merger under state and federal antitrust laws despite the DOJ's approval. State attorneys general including California's Rob Bonta have indicated they will potentially move forward with litigation seeking to block the merger, with California to be joined by New York and other states in a lawsuit to be filed "in the coming weeks". The Trump administration's Justice Department determined that the $81 billion Hollywood media merger is not likely to harm competition, approving the deal without requiring divestitures.

Left-Leaning Perspective

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote: "The American people need to know if this merger was approved as a political favor. This reeks of corruption." California AG Rob Bonta has been the most publicly vocal critic and is running an active investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported that career lawyers who spent months scrutinizing the deal were "leaning toward recommending a lawsuit challenging it on the grounds that the combination of the two movie studios would be anticompetitive and violate antitrust law." Left-leaning critics argue the merger would be disastrous for American cultural life and a free press, with the combined company creating a unified editorial voice at CBS, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS News, Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS, and the DC film/TV library, merging two of the last major independent news operations (CBS News and CNN) under one owner with clear loyalty to a White House that has already extracted editorial concessions. Bonta said Trump has "abdicated the federal administration's responsibilities to hold big corporations accountable to the law and protect a competitive marketplace" and outlined concerns including contraction of Hollywood's labor market, consolidation of streaming services, and potentially higher prices and lower wages. Progressive media watchdog Craig Aaron, co-CEO of Free Press and Free Press Action, characterized the merger review as "one of the most shallow and corrupt merger review processes we've ever seen."

Right-Leaning Perspective

The Trump administration's Justice Department's Antitrust Division said its "rigorous" eight-month investigation was "led by the Division's career staff" and included production of more than 2 million documents from more than 80 parties, with the Division's mandate being to "investigate and, if necessary, litigate proposed mergers that harm competition or American consumers." According to CNN, the DOJ questioning was led by career employees, not Trump appointees. Paramount stated: "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 Justice Department's Antitrust Division stated the acquisition will "increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem" and found that markets for streaming, linear TV and the development, production or distribution of films for theatrical release will not be harmed. Paramount characterized the deal as "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." Paramount executives say a state attorneys general lawsuit would be meritless, and the company has signaled confidence in the deal's regulatory viability.

Deep Dive

On June 12, 2026, the DOJ approved Paramount Skydance's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and within hours, California Attorney General Rob Bonta declared the merger "is not a done deal" and remains under state investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported that career antitrust attorneys had spent months scrutinizing the deal and were "leaning toward recommending a lawsuit challenging it on the grounds that the combination of the two movie studios would be anticompetitive and violate antitrust law," but senior DOJ leadership shut down the investigation before staff attorneys could formally recommend a lawsuit. The Trump administration's Justice Department has now confirmed it won't be challenging Paramount's purchase of Warner, but the mega-merger is still being reviewed by other regulators both in the U.S. and abroad. The DOJ claims its investigation was "rigorous" and "led by the Division's career staff" with "production of more than 2 million documents from more than 80 parties," while critics argue that "career attorneys within the Justice Department's Antitrust Division had objected to approving the transaction" and "senior Trump administration officials ultimately ended the investigation before staff attorneys could formally recommend a lawsuit." The central tension is that while courts "generally take notice when the nation's primary antitrust enforcement agency conducts an extensive review," federal approval creates "a significant hurdle for merger opponents," yet California's attorney general has authority to investigate the merger "despite the DOJ's approval of the deal." California will be joined by New York and other states in a lawsuit seeking to block the merger to be filed "in the coming weeks." The DOJ determined the deal would "increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem" and found that markets for streaming, linear TV and theatrical film distribution will not be harmed, contradicting analyses showing the combined entity would have approximately 23.6% market share, making it the largest studio with the top-four studios controlling 76.3% of the market. The unresolved question is whether state-level litigation can succeed against a federally-approved megamerger that removes one of Hollywood's last remaining independent competitors, particularly given courts' general deference to federal agency approvals.

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California Attorney General vows to continue investigating Paramount-Warner merger for antitrust violations

California AG Rob Bonta said the Paramount-Warner merger "is not a done deal" hours after the DOJ approved the acquisition.

Jun 17, 2026
What's Going On

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday that the proposed Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger "is not a done deal" hours after the DOJ approved the multi-billion-dollar acquisition. Bonta wrote that "the merger of Warner Bros and Paramount is not a done deal and remains under investigation by my office" and California's attorney general has authority to investigate the merger under state and federal antitrust laws despite the DOJ's approval. State attorneys general including California's Rob Bonta have indicated they will potentially move forward with litigation seeking to block the merger, with California to be joined by New York and other states in a lawsuit to be filed "in the coming weeks". The Trump administration's Justice Department determined that the $81 billion Hollywood media merger is not likely to harm competition, approving the deal without requiring divestitures.

Left says: The merger would be disastrous for American cultural life and a free press, with California AG Rob Bonta being the most publicly vocal critic running an active investigation.
Right says: The DOJ's approval followed a rigorous eight-month career-staff-led investigation, and Paramount maintains the deal is pro-competitive and does not harm consumers.
✓ Common Ground
Multiple sources across the spectrum acknowledge that while Congress has no power to stop the merger, state attorneys general or coalitions of attorneys general could sue to block the deal, which could put the matter in front of a judge.
Courts generally take notice when the nation's primary antitrust enforcement agency conducts an extensive review and ultimately decides not to oppose a transaction.
Objective Deep Dive

On June 12, 2026, the DOJ approved Paramount Skydance's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and within hours, California Attorney General Rob Bonta declared the merger "is not a done deal" and remains under state investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported that career antitrust attorneys had spent months scrutinizing the deal and were "leaning toward recommending a lawsuit challenging it on the grounds that the combination of the two movie studios would be anticompetitive and violate antitrust law," but senior DOJ leadership shut down the investigation before staff attorneys could formally recommend a lawsuit. The Trump administration's Justice Department has now confirmed it won't be challenging Paramount's purchase of Warner, but the mega-merger is still being reviewed by other regulators both in the U.S. and abroad.

The DOJ claims its investigation was "rigorous" and "led by the Division's career staff" with "production of more than 2 million documents from more than 80 parties," while critics argue that "career attorneys within the Justice Department's Antitrust Division had objected to approving the transaction" and "senior Trump administration officials ultimately ended the investigation before staff attorneys could formally recommend a lawsuit." The central tension is that while courts "generally take notice when the nation's primary antitrust enforcement agency conducts an extensive review," federal approval creates "a significant hurdle for merger opponents," yet California's attorney general has authority to investigate the merger "despite the DOJ's approval of the deal." California will be joined by New York and other states in a lawsuit seeking to block the merger to be filed "in the coming weeks."

The DOJ determined the deal would "increase competition across the media and entertainment ecosystem" and found that markets for streaming, linear TV and theatrical film distribution will not be harmed, contradicting analyses showing the combined entity would have approximately 23.6% market share, making it the largest studio with the top-four studios controlling 76.3% of the market. The unresolved question is whether state-level litigation can succeed against a federally-approved megamerger that removes one of Hollywood's last remaining independent competitors, particularly given courts' general deference to federal agency approvals.

◈ Tone Comparison

Left-leaning coverage employs language emphasizing systemic corruption, with Warren saying the deal "reeks of corruption" and references to "influence-peddling." Right-leaning and Trump administration sources emphasize procedural legitimacy, using language like "rigorous" investigation "led by the Division's career staff" to signal objectivity.