Trump’s DOJ reportedly approves Paramount Skydance’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery – US politics live

From 27m agoDepartment of Justice antitrust division approves takeover of Warner Bros Discovery by Trump ally David Ellison - report

The US Department of Justice’s antitrust division has approved the $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery by Donald Trump’s ally David Ellison though Paramount Skydance, Politico reports.

If the takeover is completed, it would give the pro-Trump billionaire control of not just CBS News, but also CNN. Ellison, a Trump supporter, is currently overseeing what CBS News veterans have called the destruction of CBS News as a nonpartisan news organization.

Last week, in an Oval Office tirade directed at the CNN host Kaitlan Collins, Trump spoke as if the takeover was already assured and suggested that the broadcaster would soon stop asking him uncomfortable questions.

“CNN’s a very corrupt organization, with a corrupt reporter standing right there,” the president said.

“CNN’s a very corrupt organization, with a corrupt reporter standing right there,” he added. “CNN does such false reporting. But now they have new ownership, so maybe they’ll straighten it out”.

Ellison has already appointed a conservative opinion journalist, Bari Weiss, to oversee CBS News, leading to a wave of firings at 60 Minutes. Before his acquisition of the CBS owner Paramount was approved, the broadcaster announced that one prominent late-night critic of Trump, Stephen Colbert, would lose his show. Acquiring Warner Bros would also give Ellison control over HBO and so the weekly broadcast of another Trump critic, John Oliver.

Politico reports.","elementId":"637ba0f0-ea4a-4dfd-9f18-19a21adf0ea5"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

If the takeover is completed, it would give the pro-Trump billionaire control of not just CBS News, but also CNN. Ellison, a Trump supporter, is currently overseeing what CBS News veterans have called the destruction of CBS News as a nonpartisan news organization.","elementId":"2dea386d-b753-4729-86c4-c6c7aa5b9240"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Last week, in an Oval Office tirade directed at the CNN host Kaitlan Collins, Trump spoke as if the takeover was already assured and suggested that the broadcaster would soon stop asking him uncomfortable questions.","elementId":"4cf79dac-07c2-4d87-9060-677f2ef8fb02"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

“CNN’s a very corrupt organization, with a corrupt reporter standing right there,” the president said.","elementId":"e2fc339e-e70a-4367-a5a2-f113b235b95c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

“CNN’s a very corrupt organization, with a corrupt reporter standing right there,” he added. “CNN does such false reporting. But now they have new ownership, so maybe they’ll straighten it out”.","elementId":"18e82259-012d-4b26-98ad-1cdee56112a6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Ellison has already appointed a conservative opinion journalist, Bari Weiss, to oversee CBS News, leading to a wave of firings at 60 Minutes. Before his acquisition of the CBS owner Paramount was approved, the broadcaster announced that one prominent late-night critic of Trump, Stephen Colbert, would lose his show. Acquiring Warner Bros would also give Ellison control over HBO and so the weekly broadcast of another Trump critic, John Oliver. ","elementId":"319b8d29-6234-4af5-863d-92e924348a5e"}],"attributes":{"pinned":true,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1781295773000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"22.22 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1781297189000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"22.46 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1781296418000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"22.33 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"22.33","title":"Department of Justice antitrust division approves takeover of Warner Bros Discovery by Trump ally David Ellison - report","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Fri 12 Jun 2026 22.46 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Fri 12 Jun 2026 12.35 CEST"},{"id":"6a2c66a08f0881a0677148aa","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

As a thunderstorm dumps pouring rain on Washington DC, our live video feed from the Kennedy Center shows that workers have stopped erecting scaffolding around the name of Donald Trump on the facade and retreated.","elementId":"35c1c708-f619-4401-a357-ff1d8d2fc784"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

It is not clear if the work stopped due to the rain, or possibly high winds and lightning, or if the plan was to take a step in the direction of complying with the court order to remove the president’s name from the memorial to John F Kennedy by the end of the day without actually doing so.","elementId":"6d6c1414-d8e0-4594-aeb2-41386d7aa868"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

We will keep you updated.","elementId":"df5ccdcf-8d96-462e-a775-8c5dd4d749f9"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1781294752000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"22.05 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1781295364000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"22.16 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1781295206000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"22.13 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"22.13","title":"Detrumpification work on Kennedy Center facade stops as rain pours down","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Fri 12 Jun 2026 22.46 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Fri 12 Jun 2026 12.35 CEST"},{"id":"6a2c5e1f8f0880a900035976","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Workers are preparing to remove Donald Trump’s name from the facade of the Kennedy Center building in Washington after a judge earlier denied a last-minute request from Trump’s hand-picked board to pause a ruling that ordered the removal by today.","elementId":"5c8bd418-a7fb-42ab-84d0-05ffc37207c3"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

A federal judge extended a court-ordered block on the creation and operation of the Trump administration’s $1.8bn “anti-weaponization fund”. Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that it will remain blocked until further notice from the court amid mixed messages from the government over the fund. “We just don’t have the absolute certainty that this fund won’t rear its head in another form,” she said. Brinkema said she would lift her order if acting attorney general Todd Blanche and treasury secretary Scott Bessent filed a declaration under penalty of perjury that the fund was not moving forward in the next week. Here’s my colleague Sam Levine’s report.\n \n

A judge denied a request from the Kennedy Center to pause a ruling that had ordered Trump’s name removed from the building by today’s deadline. Trump’s hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center had mounted the last-ditch effort to keep his name on the facade of the building this morning following a vote yesterday.\n \n

A federal judge declined to block Donald Trump from staging a UFC event on the White House South Lawn on Sunday. The mixed martial arts show is part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary – and timed for the president’s 80th birthday. More on that here.\n \n

The FBI raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and showed up at the homes of staffers, MS NOW reported last night. A board member of the organization, which works to register voters in the state and carries out pro-democracy and anti-gerrymandering work, told MS Now that agents asked about voter fraud with “straight-up intimidation tactics” and were “basically trying to fish for information”. It comes as Trump continues to baselessly claim that voter fraud is rampant, including alleging that there’s “cheating” going on in California’s elections, and repeat his lies about the 2020 election.\n \n

The House oversight committee sent a letter to Alan Dershowitz formally requesting him to appear for a transcribed interview before the panel on 9 July, as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier this week, the committee’s chair James Comer said he would be asking Dershowitz to appear before the panel, based on the testimony of Lesley Groff, Epstein’s longtime assistant, who testified before the committee on Tuesday, as well as “a meeting that I had afterwards with several of the Epstein survivors”. More on this story here.\n \n

And finally, Donald Trump and his allies have discussed pushing lawmakers to pass a symbolic resolution aimed at voiding his first-term impeachments, the Wall Street Journal reported last night. Experts say it would have little legal significance, since the constitution provides no procedure for undoing an impeachment. Here’s my colleague David Smith’s story.\n","elementId":"b7577811-3ce1-416d-858f-586c0bbd1216"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":false,"summary":true},"blockCreatedOn":1781291449000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"21.10 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1781292331000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"21.25 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1781292028000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"21.20 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"21.20","title":"The day so far","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Fri 12 Jun 2026 22.46 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Fri 12 Jun 2026 12.35 CEST"},{"id":"6a2c4d478f0881a0677147b0","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The FBI raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and showed up at the homes of staffers, MS NOW reported last night.","elementId":"2534905d-a577-4435-8c33-314e9c1a9d19"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Prentiss Haney, a board member of the organization, which works to register voters in the state and carries out pro-democracy and anti-gerrymandering work, told MS Now that agents asked about voter fraud with “straight-up intimidation tactics” and were “basically trying to fish for information”.","elementId":"4121bef8-f1d6-4f3a-be7f-6c2855927e58"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The incident comes as Donald Trump continues to baselessly claim that voter fraud is rampant, including alleging that there’s “cheating” going on in California’s elections, and repeat his lies about the 2020 election.","elementId":"616c439a-de8a-432a-9dff-599a2187e634"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

In January, the FBI also raided a Georgia elections hub for records related to the 2020 presidential election, and California prosecutors have said they’re investigating multiple claims of voter fraud in the Los Angeles mayor’s race as a result of Trump’s un-evidenced claims.","elementId":"67b2ad70-eae4-4090-8856-2d45318cff3b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

“It’s clear that this administration is fishing to try to drum up stories around fraud,” Haney told NBC News. “It’s clear that this administration is trying to target civil rights leaders and community leaders and folks who are doing that work, because they don’t see a path for themselves to actually legitimately hold power beyond this year.”","elementId":"bc6f6bc8-1402-4379-a9df-11db48849958"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Former Ohio senator and Democratic nominee for the state’s special Senate election in November Sherrod Brown said the reports of the FBI raid were “deeply disturbing” and “a transparent attempt at silencing Ohioans and their ability to vote in free and fair elections”.","elementId":"91405669-409d-4d41-9878-698d3d027ccc"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

He added: “Federal law enforcement should never try to intimidate eligible voters from exercising their right to participate in democracy. The FBI should immediately make public any and all activities around these raids in Ohio. For years, Ohio has had safe and secure elections that have been administered in a bipartisan fashion. Any attempt to intimidate Ohio voters is wrong, and will not work.”","elementId":"5a781935-905b-4878-b455-e4d40286a002"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1781288263000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"20.17 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1781290435000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"20.53 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1781289412000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"20.36 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"20.36","title":"'Straight-up intimidation tactics': FBI raids offices of Ohio voting rights group","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Fri 12 Jun 2026 22.46 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Fri 12 Jun 2026 12.35 CEST"},{"id":"6a2c3dd18f0881a0677146dd","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

A judge has denied a request from the Kennedy Center to pause a ruling that had ordered Donald Trump’s name removed from the building by today’s deadline.","elementId":"1ab096c4-4fb3-4fe2-bb9e-96b8506c098e"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

Trump’s hand-picked board at the Kennedy Center had mounted the last-ditch effort to keep his name on the facade of the building this morning following a vote yesterday.","elementId":"ef8fafe2-cd61-45a8-acdd-9b9c42f86f5d"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

US district judge Christopher Cooper ruled on 29 May that Trump’s name was illegally added to the iconic Washington performing arts facility. Cooper said that only Congress could institute a change to the Kennedy Center’s name and ordered references to Trump to be removed within 14 days (which takes us up to today).","elementId":"15ee3452-0c2e-4ca9-b51b-b8138769f54d"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

He also blocked the administration from closing the cultural and arts venue for major renovations that had been planned to start in July and last for two years.","elementId":"be7ccb23-6de5-4182-bec8-7e91c3a4409c"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

The board vote marked a shift from a 4 June memo to staff from the Kennedy Center’s office of general counsel which said email signatures, letterhead and other documents must reflect the name as “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” or “Kennedy Center”.","elementId":"37abb80f-1614-45a5-85cb-534c73567f87"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

A federal judge has declined to block Donald Trump from hosting the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House South Lawn on Sunday, in a mixed martial arts show timed for the president’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.","elementId":"410b612a-e9f9-4212-afc2-02a813d7c137"}