Two senior House Democrats, Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, have opened a formal investigation into Skydance Media’s roughly $8 billion acquisition of Paramount Global. In a letter dated Aug. 20, the ranking members of the Judiciary and Energy and Commerce committees asked Paramount Skydance Corp. to turn over documents detailing its communications with the White House, the Federal Communications Commission and the Trump Organization during the merger-approval process. The lawmakers say Paramount’s decision in July to pay $16 million to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit over a 2024 “60 Minutes” interview, along with Trump’s public claim that he expects up to $20 million in free advertising from the merged company, may constitute an illegal bribe in exchange for regulatory clearance. They also cite reported promises to hire an ombudsman to police alleged bias at CBS News and to curtail diversity initiatives, characterizing the concessions as efforts to align coverage with the administration’s agenda. The FCC approved the merger in late July after Skydance filed commitments, praised by FCC Chair Brendan Carr, to broaden ideological viewpoints in its programming. Paramount Skydance has denied wrongdoing, saying it complied with all anti-bribery laws, while the White House and the FCC have not commented on the probe. Raskin and Pallone gave the company until Sept. 3 to produce internal emails, settlement records and any discussions involving Trump, warning that failure to cooperate could spur additional congressional action. The inquiry adds political scrutiny to a media deal that brought CBS, Paramount Pictures and other properties under the control of Skydance founder David Ellison.