FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals
This authoritative-secondary source from ProPublica supports 3 claims across 2 ledger entries.
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Claims supported by this source
- factdocumented
Donald Trump designated Brendan Carr chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on January 20, 2025.
Carr's designation by Trump and subsequent Paramount review chronologyTrump designated Brendan Carr to chair the FCC · FCC chair in office as of July 15, 2026 · reviewed 2026-09-03
- factreported
ProPublica's review of FCC Chair Brendan Carr's financial disclosures found that he accepted Kennedy Center gala tickets from CBS or its parent company at least seven times after Trump appointed him to the FCC in 2017, with disclosed values totaling more than $63,000 through 2024; whether Paramount paid for Carr's 2025 skybox seats remained unknown because his latest disclosure was unavailable.
Carr disclosure history, aggregate ticket value, donor identity, and missing 2025 disclosureCarr accepted more than $63,000 in CBS- or Paramount-funded gala tickets · FCC said attendance was cleared; four ethics experts urged Carr to avoid the next Paramount decision · reviewed 2026-09-03
- analysisreported
An FCC official told ProPublica that agency ethics officers under Trump-designated chair Brendan Carr treated the gala as a widely attended gathering, while the agency did not provide the written authorizations requested by ProPublica; four ethics experts said Carr's acceptance compromised the FCC's impartiality and that he should not participate in the next Paramount merger decision.
FCC exception response, missing written authorizations, and four experts' recusal assessmentCarr accepted more than $63,000 in CBS- or Paramount-funded gala tickets · FCC said attendance was cleared; four ethics experts urged Carr to avoid the next Paramount decision · reviewed 2026-09-03