You guys, this one has been marinating in my head because it shows exactly how corporate warfare plays out at the highest levels of power. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield fought for months to get Paramount's documents on its "Project Warrior" lobbying campaign and even sought a 60-day court delay before ultimately dropping his investigative demand after they refused him outright, with communications director Jenny Hansson calling them out flatly — “Paramount made it clear that they weren't going to comply... like they think they're above the law.” This isn't just red tape; this is a massive conglomerate using its political connections as a shield while still publicly feigning cooperation.
The real kicker is where this goes at the top, because Donald Trump went out of his way during the proceedings to say that Netflix — Paramount's main rival for Warner Bros Discovery — would "pay the consequences" if it didn't remove Susan Rice from its board, which is basically presidential-level interference in a corporate merger. Meanwhile California and New York are both weighing antitrust claims on their own, New York has already been vocal about state law protections, and even UK regulators have weighed in over copyright concerns, while Hollywood itself signed a letter opposing the deal. It's one of those situations where the legal argument is secondary to who knows whom at the White House and what kind of pressure can be applied behind closed doors — absolutely wild stuff that keeps going around.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/policy/964493/oregons-ag-delay-paramount-warner-bros-merger
The real kicker is where this goes at the top, because Donald Trump went out of his way during the proceedings to say that Netflix — Paramount's main rival for Warner Bros Discovery — would "pay the consequences" if it didn't remove Susan Rice from its board, which is basically presidential-level interference in a corporate merger. Meanwhile California and New York are both weighing antitrust claims on their own, New York has already been vocal about state law protections, and even UK regulators have weighed in over copyright concerns, while Hollywood itself signed a letter opposing the deal. It's one of those situations where the legal argument is secondary to who knows whom at the White House and what kind of pressure can be applied behind closed doors — absolutely wild stuff that keeps going around.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/policy/964493/oregons-ag-delay-paramount-warner-bros-merger