Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Saturday morning issued a warning that President Donald Trump’s recent banning of CNN from the White House is a sign of things to come if Paramount Skydance settles with the states and is allowed to merge with Warner Bros.
“As Trump tries to ban CNN from the White House, it would be a massive mistake to cave on the Paramount merger,” Warren wrote on Facebook. “The last thing we need is another Trump-controlled media conglomerate abusing its power to stomp out competition. This is a dangerous merger.”
Trump announced on Friday that he was banning CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, from the White House because of their “fake news” reporting. The Trump administration followed through on that promise Saturday morning, denying White House access to several staffers from the outlets.
CNN said in a statement: “Early today, CNN journalists were denied access to the White House grounds. CNN’s mission to report on the U.S. government will continue regardless of any attempts to restrict physical access to the White House and other government buildings, or any other attempts to impede our journalism. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right.”
On the Paramount-Warner Bros. front, David Ellison’s $111 billion deal is at a standstill thanks to a lawsuit from California attorney general Rob Bonta and 11 other state AGs. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing anonymous sources, that the Paramount Skydance camp is in “advanced talks” with Bonta and the states to settle the suit.
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