Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials Brendan Carr and Olivia Trusty accepted high-value gifts from Paramount and CBS while the agency presided over deals involving the media giant. According to ethics disclosure records obtained by ProPublica, Commissioner Trusty received tickets worth more than $12,000 for the Kennedy Center honors gala, while FCC Chair Brendan Carr sat in a private skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison, where seats sold for $125,000 a ticket, according to Kennedy Center guidelines.
These gifts occurred amidst a volatile regulatory period. Trusty cast a decisive vote approving Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance Media five months before the gala. Simultaneously, Paramount was preparing a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery—a move that would involve a $110 billion consolidation of two of the five largest film studios and require further FCC approval.
Ethics experts, including former Office of Government Ethics leader Walter Shaub, told ProPublica that accepting such gifts from a regulated entity constitutes a conflict of interest. Federal rules generally ban employees from taking gifts from any entity that is regulated by or seeks official action from their agency.
The Scope of FCC Gifts from Paramount and CBS
The pattern of gift-taking at the FCC extends beyond the current leadership. A ProPublica analysis of ethics disclosures reveals that seven of the 10 commissioners who have served since 2016 accepted Kennedy Center gala tickets from CBS or its parent company, totaling more than $260,000. Carr’s previous financial statements show he accepted tickets at least seven times since his 2017 appointment, with a total value exceeding $63,000.
The influence of media companies extends beyond the Kennedy Center. Disclosure records from the last decade show commissioners accepted paid trips to banquets and conferences from other regulated entities, including NBCUniversal, ABC-Disney, and Fox News, for White House Correspondents’ Association dinners. The combined value of these specific gifts topped $308,000, though the majority of the total came from CBS and its parent company.
Paramount’s chief communications officer, Melissa Zukerman, described the invitations as a “decades-long CBS practice to invite government officials from both parties.” She did not address why the practice continued after new ownership took over last year, the purpose of the gifts or whether the tickets posed a conflict of interest.
Regulatory Timing and the Skydance Merger
The timeline of these gifts aligns with critical regulatory pivots. In September 2024, Paramount filed for FCC approval for its merger with Skydance Media. Shortly after, the FCC launched an investigation into CBS following complaints about a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. Brendan Carr, after being named FCC chair by Donald Trump, accused CBS of biased election coverage and said it would be an obstacle to the Paramount-Skydance merger.
However, the regulatory atmosphere shifted rapidly. On Jan. 16, 2025, former FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced the agency was dismissing the election complaint against CBS. Days later, Carr reopened the investigation. To resolve a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump, CBS agreed to pay the president $16 million. Two days after Trump posted on social media that he received the settlement, the FCC took up the Paramount-Skydance merger.
To secure approval, Paramount agreed to appoint an independent ombudsperson to evaluate bias claims and the elimination of the company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Carr and Trusty voted in favor of the merger; Commissioner Anna Gomez voted against it, citing “never-before-seen forms of government control over newsroom decisions and editorial judgment.”
The $110 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover
The ethical scrutiny intensifies as the FCC reviews the potential $110 billion consolidation of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. This deal would unite Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services, along with CBS and CNN. The merger faces significant opposition; more than 5,000 entertainment workers, including Robert De Niro, Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix and Glenn Close, signed an open letter warning that the deal would compromise industry diversity and eliminate jobs.
Legal challenges are already mounting. California, New York, and 10 other Democratic states filed a lawsuit to block the merger under federal and state anti-monopoly laws. Internationally, the British government has signaled plans to investigate whether the resulting entity would stifle competition. The FCC’s current review also includes an examination of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi that are backing the deal.
The potential for recusal creates a procedural crisis. The FCC currently has only three commissioners. Because the FCC requires a three-commissioner quorum for a vote, if Carr or Trusty were to recuse themselves, the panel might be unable to decide on the merger. Alternatively, Carr could delegate the approval to staff, a move he previously used for the acquisition of Tegna by Nexstar Media Group.
Federal Ethics Rules and the ‘Widely Attended’ Exception
The FCC has defended the appearances, stating that agency ethics officers have cleared these events for years across multiple administrations. An FCC spokesperson asserted that there has been “no change in recent years” regarding how officials attend these events.
The agency appears to be relying on the “widely attended gathering” exception. Under this rule, officials may attend events that “further agency programs or operations,” provided the agency’s interest outweighs the appearance of improper influence. However, a 2007 Office of Government Ethics memo explicitly clarified that performing arts presentations would not count even if they include a reception for mingling.
Virginia Canter, a former White House ethics lawyer and current counsel for the Democracy Defenders Fund, described the application of this exception to the Kennedy Center gala as a “stretch.” Similarly, Kedric Payne of the Campaign Legal Center noted that the rules are specifically designed to prevent officials from accepting expensive gifts from entities with pending decisions before the agency.
Walter Shaub, who led the Office of Government Ethics from 2013 to 2017, rejected the FCC’s justification, stating that such an explanation “doesn’t work for government officials who are supposed to have better judgment than a fifth grader.”
Legal Risks and Future Implications
The acceptance of these gifts may jeopardize the legal standing of the FCC’s merger decisions. Richard Painter, a former White House ethics attorney, warned that courts may become skeptical of regulatory decisions if the process is shown to have violated ethics rules.
The Justice Department has been urged by ethics experts to investigate potential violations of federal law. While federal rules allow officials to remedy improper gifts through prompt reimbursement, experts argue that for the sake of public trust, the affected commissioners should have abstained from the votes entirely.
The next critical checkpoint will be the FCC’s final determination on the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger and whether the agency provides the written authorizations required for the “widely attended gathering” exception for the December gala tickets.
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