FCC Chairman Carr defends Paramount Global–Skydance merger approval

(Reuters) -Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr defended the agency's review approving Skydance Media's acquisition of Paramount Global as routine and in the public interest in a letter made public on Tuesday.

Carr, in the letter dated August 12, rejected Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal's allegation that the agency's actions were conditioned on payments to President Donald Trump.

Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a $20 billion lawsuit filed by Trump, who claimed CBS News' "60 Minutes" deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

Blumenthal last month sought answers on the review and suggested the FCC's actions aimed at "government censorship" in approving the deal.

"The FCC is engaged in an unprecedented and illegal campaign to chill free speech and independent news reporting protected by the First Amendment," Blumenthal wrote to Carr in a July letter.

"Contrary to some suggestions, the FCC ran a standard review process for this transaction," Carr said in his response. "This review process was consistent with normal commission practices, and I am confident that the commission's approval of this transaction advances the public interest."

The FCC voted 2-1 in late July to approve the $8.4 billion merger after Skydance agreed to ensuring CBS news and entertainment programming remains free of bias, hiring an ombudsman for at least two years to review complaints and ending diversity programs.

Democratic Senator Adam Schiff last week asked the FCC whether Trump sought programming or media coverage commitments as part of the approval of CBS-parent Paramount Global's merger with Skydance.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

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