Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield had been pressing Paramount to turn over records tied to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. He also asked a state circuit court judge to put the transaction on hold for 60 days, giving his office time to examine the materials. Now, according to Deadline and Variety, Rayfield has withdrawn his civil investigative demand seeking those documents.
Paramount, unsurprisingly, welcomed Rayfield’s decision to back off the request. The attorney general’s office, however, made clear it does not view the matter as resolved.
Jenny Hansson, Rayfield’s communications director, told Deadline, “Paramount made it clear that they weren’t going to comply with the investigative demand, and that they think they’re above the law. We’re not going to let them waste Oregonians’ resources on these games. We’ve withdrawn the motion to consider our next steps.”
Rayfield’s inquiry was focused in part on documents connected to Paramount’s lobbying campaign, internally known as “Project Warrior.” Paramount is led by David and Larry Ellison, prominent Donald Trump allies who have maintained close ties to the White House. During the proceedings, the President singled out Netflix — Paramount’s chief competitor for Warner Bros. Discovery — warning that the company would “pay the consequences” if it failed to remove Trump critic Susan Rice from its board.
Although Oregon’s attempt to slow or stop the merger has lost momentum for now, other jurisdictions are still weighing possible action. California, New York and even the U.K. are among those considering challenges on antitrust grounds, while opposition to the deal has also emerged from within Hollywood.
