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Committee opening accuses political influence in merger reviews, cites concerns about press suppression
Summary
An unnamed committee member opened a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing alleging political interference in antitrust merger reviews tied to major media deals and saying a CBS '60 Minutes' special was pulled under pressure; a second member objected the remarks were partisan and raised a timing objection.
Speaker 1, a member of the House Judiciary subcommittee, opened the hearing by warning that the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix — with Paramount/Skydance as an alternative bidder — raises serious antitrust and press-freedom concerns. Speaker 1 said past testimony from a former Department of Justice official showed lobbyists and political actors can override career antitrust experts, producing outcomes based on connections rather than legal merits.
Speaker 1 alleged that, in a recent Paramount/Skydance matter, an incoming Federal Communications Commission commissioner (named in the transcript as “Bridal Carr”) accepted two…
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