Federal Communications Commission officials accepted expensive gifts from Paramount while the agency was reviewing major mergers involving the company, according to ethics disclosure records obtained by ProPublica.

Commissioner Olivia Trusty received Kennedy Center gala tickets worth more than $12,000 gifted by Paramount five months after she cast a decisive vote approving the company's $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. FCC Chair Brendan Carr and his wife attended the same December ceremony in a private skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison and other executives, seats that sold for $125,000 each according to Kennedy Center guidelines.

The December gala took place as Paramount was launching a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a move requiring FCC approval. The commission's review represents one of the final hurdles facing an estimated $110 billion consolidation uniting two of Hollywood's five largest film studios.

What the Left Is Saying

Democratic lawmakers and government ethics advocates say the gift disclosures demonstrate clear violations of federal ethics rules and demand investigations into potential conflicts of interest.

Walter Shaub, who led the federal Office of Government Ethics from 2013 to 2017, told ProPublica there is no circumstance under which regulators should accept gifts from companies they oversee. "There's no way that any top federal regulator should ever, ever accept a gift from a regulated company with interests their work will foreseeably affect," Shaub said. "The appearance of taking gifts like that is terrible. What's at stake is nothing less than the public's trust in government."

Virginia Canter, who served as ethics counsel under multiple Democratic and Republican administrations and now works for the nonpartisan Democracy Defenders Fund, called the acceptance of tickets disturbing. "This is shocking. Pretty disturbing, that's what I would say. I just don't understand what they were thinking," she said.

Four ethics experts consulted by ProPublica said Trusty and Carr compromised the FCC's impartiality and should recuse themselves from any upcoming merger decisions involving Paramount or Warner Bros. Discovery.

What the Right Is Saying

Neither Trusty nor Carr provided comment for this article, and neither has publicly defended accepting the tickets. The FCC has not yet made public Carr's financial disclosure for last year, making it unclear whether he received the premium skybox seats as a gift from Paramount or purchased them independently.

Some regulatory observers note that attendance at industry events and cultural galas is common among Washington officials and does not necessarily indicate improper influence. They point out that Trusty's merger vote occurred months before she attended the Kennedy Center event, suggesting the timing may be coincidental rather than indicative of a quid pro quo arrangement.

Carr's previous financial disclosures show he has accepted Kennedy Center tickets at least seven times since his 2017 FCC appointment, totaling more than $63,000 in gifts from CBS or Paramount. This long-standing pattern suggests the relationship predates the current merger review and may reflect longstanding industry customs rather than specific attempts to influence regulatory decisions.

What the Numbers Show

Federal ethics rules prohibit government employees from accepting gifts from entities that do business with, are regulated by, or seek official action from their agency. The threshold for reporting gifts is $390.

Trusty received more than $12,000 in tickets from Paramount, according to disclosure records. Carr's previous disclosures show over $63,000 in Kennedy Center tickets accepted since 2017.

Seven FCC commissioners have accepted Kennedy gala tickets from CBS or its parent company over the past decade, ProPublica reported.

The Skydance Media merger approved by Trusty's decisive vote was valued at $8 billion. The Warner Bros. Discovery deal pending FCC approval would create an estimated $110 billion megacorporation combining Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services, CBS and CNN broadcasting networks, and numerous other media assets.

More than 5,000 entertainment industry workers including actors Robert De Niro, Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix, and Glenn Close signed an open letter opposing the consolidation, citing concerns about job elimination and reduced industry diversity.

The Bottom Line

The FCC's review of Paramount's potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery represents one of the most consequential media regulatory decisions in recent years, potentially reshaping how millions access news, entertainment, sports, and digital content.

Ethics experts say Trusty and Carr should recuse themselves from any merger deliberations given their acceptance of gifts from a company directly affected by FCC decisions. Federal ethics rules explicitly prohibit accepting such gifts when the giver has regulatory matters pending before the agency.

Neither commissioner responded to requests for comment on whether they plan to participate in the Warner Bros. Discovery merger review. The FCC has not yet released Carr's most recent financial disclosure, leaving questions about his attendance at the December gala unanswered.