Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and two other Democratic lawmakers on Monday demanded more information about what Trump administration officials discussed with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos before pulling out of the bidding war for streaming giant Warner Bros. Discovery.
Warren and her co-signatories of the letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles expressed concern that Trump administration officials “used closed-door meetings” with Sarandos last week.
Sen. to this letter. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., also signed on. The White House, the Justice Department and Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Paramount Skydance signed a merger agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday, a day after Netflix announced it would not increase its offer for WBD’s studio and streaming assets. Paramount Skydance is led by David Ellison, son of billionaire oracle mogul Larry Ellison, a close ally of President Donald Trump.
“Your conversations with Mr. Sarandos tarnish the Warner Bros. bidding process, raising suspicions that the Trump administration’s DOJ is making merger review decisions based on political bias rather than law or facts,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter, which was shared with NBC News.
Netflix abandoned the bidding war after Sarandos’ meetings in Washington. In a statement, Sarandos and co-CEO Greg Peters said they believed the price needed to match Paramount Skydance’s offer was “not financially attractive,” adding, “This transaction has always been a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.”
In an interview with Bloomberg published Sunday, Sarandos was asked what the Justice Department and Trump told her about Netflix’s pursuit of acquiring WBD. In response, Sarandos said: “I don’t know that there is a growing political resistance.”
“It’s a growing narrative of political resistance. But we were on a normal regulatory path. I was in DC on Thursday for a scheduled meeting with the DOJ a couple of weeks ago to go through some questions about the deal. It was a very productive meeting, nothing out of the ordinary,” Sarandos said. “Nothing that drew me to DC has changed or changed dramatically.”
Warren, Blumenthal and Liccardo are pressing for more clarity on what Sarandos discussed with Trump administration officials on Thursday. (Democratic lawmakers do not have subpoena power because their party does not hold a majority in the US Senate.)
“The American people deserve to know what Mr. Sarandos wanted in your meetings, what you told him, and how your discussions may have contributed to Netflix’s withdrawal from the bidding war pending an Antitrust Division investigation,” the lawmakers wrote in the five-page letter.
Sarandos met with White House staff, but not Trump, NBC News previously reported. The New York Post reported that Sarandos met with Bondi, Wiles and Justice Department antitrust officials “to try to persuade the administration not to oppose the deal on antitrust grounds.” NBC News has not verified that report.
Trump recently told NBC News’ Tom Llamas that he would stay out of the antitrust proceedings surrounding the WBD purchase, but he has indicated multiple times in the past that he would personally get involved. The president also praised the Ellison family.
“Larry Ellison is great and his son David is great,” Trump told reporters in October. “They’re my friends, they’re my biggest supporters, and they do the right thing.”
Speaking on an investor call Monday morning, David Ellison said Paramount Skydance believes there are “no statutory obstacles” to closing the WBD merger in the US.
Ellison’s Skydance Media acquired Paramount Global last year in a deal valued at $8 billion.
Sarandos and Ellison both visited Washington as their companies pursued WBD. Sarandos testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel in February, while Ellison testified in last week’s State of the Union address by Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C. Attended as his guest, according to photo on X.
Netflix’s bid for WBD does not include the company’s cable assets, such as CNN, but Paramount Skydance is set to acquire the entire company.
If approved, the Paramount-WBD merger would unite two storied Hollywood film studios and include an expansive library of intellectual property ranging from “The Godfather” and SpongeBob SquarePants (Paramount) to “Casablanca” and Batman (WBD).
