Paramount hosts non-public dinner with Trump and his prime DOJ official whereas awaiting federal approval to purchase CNN: report | EUROtoday

Paramount Skydance executives hosted President Donald Trump and different prime administration officers for a personal dinner within the nation’s capital on Thursday — because the company awaits federal approval on a deal to accumulate Warner Bros. Discovery, based on a brand new report.

Trump spoke to visitors for nearly an hour, as enterprise titans and federal brass mingled at combined tables contained in the U.S. Institute of Peace, The New York Times reported, citing individuals knowledgeable of the unique gathering.

Among these in attendance have been: Paramount CEO David Ellison, CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The antitrust division inside Blanche’s Justice Department is ready to scrutinize the proposed $111 billion buy of Warner Bros., which might hand CNN and different shops to Ellison — who already controls CBS News. Warner Bros. shareholders signed off on the deal earlier this week, but it surely received’t be finalized till the federal government approves.

Such a summit between federal officers and company leaders — on the cusp of a titanic transaction — is taken into account uncommon, The NYT famous.

Multiple unnamed CBS News reporters expressed shock on the dinner, fearing it might gasoline perceptions of undue friendliness between the newsroom and the administration.

Critics argue this notion is already well-entrenched. Since Weiss turned editor-in-chief final yr, she’s confronted accusations of tilting CBS News protection to favor the administration. In early 2026, she spiked a “60 Minutes” section on a brutal Salvadoran jail the place the administration despatched deported immigrants.

Weiss, the founding father of The Free Presshas mentioned her editorial selections are hers alone and that she has not been influenced by Ellison of the administration.

Following the dinner, some Democrats have been fast to specific outrage.

“Ellison and the information oligarchs should enjoy it while they can because when Democrats win power we are going to break these anti-consumer, anti-free speech media conglomerates into pieces,” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy wrote on X.

Representatives for Paramount and the White House didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark from The Independent.