With Skydance/Paramount merger pending, Skydance reportedly set up secret side deal with Trump worth tens of millions more dollars

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pressed Skydance Media in a letter with Senate colleagues about reports of a secret deal between Skydance and Donald Trump that may be related to Paramount’s recent multi-million-dollar settlement agreement with the Trump administration.

Skydance and Paramount are awaiting approval from the Trump administration on their proposed mega-merger, raising concerns about potential bribery related to the deal. In May, following reports of a potential settlement in Paramount’s legal battle with Trump, the senators wrote to the company with concerns that its attempt to settle Trump’s “meritless” lawsuit for tens of millions of dollars, while approval for its $8 billion merger with Skydance is pending in front of the Trump administration, could be construed as bribery.

“These reports raise fresh questions about corruption in the Trump administration and President Trump’s willingness to accept payments from entities with significant policy interests before agencies he controls,” the senators wrote in a letter to Skydance Media CEO David Ellison.

Despite warnings from senators that the deal resembled back-door bribery, Paramount reached a $16 million settlement with Trump, a portion of which will go towards his presidential library. Moving funds to the presidential library offers a discrete way for Trump to collect money under the appearance of ‘contributions’. It was later revealed that the arrangement exceeds the original $16 million. The arrangement may involve public service announcements and other broadcast content promoting conservative causes, potentially worth an additional $15 to $20 million – leading to reports of a back-door deal with Skydance. Consequences could include CBS’ decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert just days after he publicly criticized Paramount’s settlement.

Along with Wyden, the letter was led by Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

To understand whether Skydance’s actions complied with federal anti-bribery laws, the senators are requesting answers to the following questions by August 4.
Is there currently any arrangement under which you or Skydance will provide compensation, advertising, or promotional activities that in any way assist Trump, his family, his presidential library, or other Administration officials?
Have you personally discussed with Trump, any of his family members, any Trump administration officials, or presidential library fund personnel any matters related to the Paramount-Skydance transaction? If so, what was the nature of these discussions?
Were you or any other Skydance executives involved in discussions about settling Trump’s lawsuit against CBS? If so, please provide information regarding the timing, nature of, and participants in these discussions, including whether the pending transaction with Paramount was discussed.
Has Skydance agreed or have you personally agreed to make changes to Skydance’s content or Paramount’s or CBS’s content at the request of the Trump administration, to facilitate approval of the transaction? If so, please describe those requests.
Were you or other Skydance executives involved in discussions about canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert? If so, please provide information regarding the timing, nature of, and participants in these discussions, including whether the pending transaction with Paramount was discussed.
Does Skydance have any policies, procedures, or guidance related to compliance with 18 U.S.C. 201 or any other laws governing public corruption? If so, please provide a copy of those policies and procedures.
Does Skydance conduct any training for its staff or executives related to compliance with 18 U.S.C. 201 or any other laws governing public corruption? If so, please provide details regarding these trainings.

In a move to amass more money under the guise of ‘contributions’, at least part of Paramount’s $16 million settlement will go towards Trump’s presidential library. Wyden joined his colleagues to introduce legislation in the Senate and House that would close loopholes allowing presidential libraries to be used as tools for corruption and bribery, including Trump’s potential back-door deal with Skydance.

Wyden Demands Epstein Files

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Ryan Carey (202) 224-4515
June 17, 2025

Following New Epstein Revelations, Wyden Renews Demand for Trump Administration to Produce Epstein Files

Treasury Department is Refusing to Produce Key FinCEN Epstein Files in its Possession, Hampering Further Investigation of Epstein’s Financial Backers and Complicit Banks

Washington, D.C. – Following new revelations about Jeffrey Epstein’s financial ties to a prominent Trump donor and accusations regarding the president himself, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today renewed his demand that the Trump administration produce key Epstein documents in the possession of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Treasury. 

“This Administration began with reassuring promises that the Epstein case would receive the attention and diligence it deserves … Fast forward to the present, where the released section of the Epstein files contains little relevant or groundbreaking information, with some pages entirely redacted,” Senator Wyden wrote in a letter to the attorney general, FBI director and Treasury secretary. “This reversal of commitments to investigate those who facilitated Epstein’s criminal activities comes as President Trump and his advisors’ own ties to Epstein are being exposed.”

Senator Wyden’s initial request, from March of this year, sought any DOJ or Treasury files “related to individuals, financial institutions, attorneys and agents that may have known about or facilitated the financing of Epstein’s illegal activities.” In today’s letter, Senator Wyden noted that committee investigators reviewed a portion of a file compiled by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, but that the Treasury has refused to provide copies of the documents for further analysis. Those documents contain information on payments Epstein obtained from high-profile individuals and used to traffic women or “engage in dubious transactions indicative of money laundering.” They also demonstrate how major financial institutions failed to report Epstein’s questionable transactions in a timely manner as required by law. 

Senator Wyden’s letter appears in full below and is available for download here. 

Dear Attorney General Bondi, Secretary Bessent and Director Patel:

I write to follow up regarding your failure to cooperate with my existing investigation related to the financing of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network. As you are aware, on March 11, 2025 I sent a request to the agencies you lead for a host of documents in your possession that would shed light on hundreds of millions of dollars in payments to Epstein by several ultra-wealthy individuals, including billionaire financier Leon Black.  In light of recent developments, I am deeply concerned that the Trump Administration may be withholding these documents to prevent exposure of President Trump’s own ties to Jeffrey Epstein. 

As you are aware, my original request on March 11th included new information from my investigation highlighting how $170 million in payments from Black and his associates to Epstein were used to finance Epstein’s trafficking activities. For example, I provided you with a copy of a settlement agreement Black signed with the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General acknowledging that “Jeffrey Epstein used the money Black paid him to partially fund his operations in the Virgin Islands.”  The request also detailed how the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has already compiled this information, a portion of which has been reviewed in camera by my investigative staff at the Senate Finance Committee and that of Committee Chairman Senator Mike Crapo.  During the first Trump Administration, as with Administrations before that, Treasury regularly produced these sorts of documents to Congress.  However, although the Treasury Department recently acknowledged it possesses the records I requested in an April 30th letter, it refused to provide copies of the documents to my office for further analysis. 

These documents contain extensive information on the extent to which high-profile individuals paid Epstein staggering sums of money, which was then used to move women around the world or engage in dubious transactions indicative of money laundering. These documents also shed light on how major U.S. financial institutions turned a blind eye to the financing of Epstein’s criminal network, simply waiving the payments through without properly reporting them to U.S. authorities in a timely fashion, as required by law. All of the individuals, financial institutions, attorneys and agents who participated in financing Epstein’s illegal activities must be held accountable. 

This Administration began with reassuring promises that the Epstein case would receive the attention and diligence it deserves.   For example, Deputy Director Bongino said on his podcast in 2023, “Listen—that Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal. Please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on this.”  Director Patel wrote on X in February that the FBI under his leadership would have “no cover-ups, no missing documents and no stone left unturned” in response to growing pressure to release the Epstein files to the public and Attorney General Bondi’s mandate to release the files to her office.  Fast forward to the present, where the released section of the Epstein files contains little relevant or groundbreaking information, with some pages entirely redacted. The big reveal that was promised instead consisted of Deputy Director Bongino saying “I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself.” on Fox News last month, with no additional follow-up on the promise of transparency.  

This reversal of commitments to investigate those who facilitated Epstein’s criminal activities comes as President Trump and his advisors own ties to Epstein are being exposed. For example, Elon Musk, a former close advisor to President Trump, recently posted the following social media platform X:

Musk has since deleted this post, likely as a result of threats from President Trump to cancel billions in federal contracts for Tesla, SpaceX and other Musk companies. Additionally, we learned last week that Palantir Technologies founder and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel received a $40 million investment from Jeffrey Epstein.  As you are surely aware, Thiel is exceptionally close with Vice President JD Vance. Thiel hired Vance to work for him and contributed over $15 million to Vance’s Senate campaign.  President Trump also appointed Leon Black’s son to lead the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, despite the fact that Black paid Epstein $170 million for purported “tax advice.” 

Based on my investigation to date in the Epstein matter, there appear to be numerous additional people who need to be held accountable for the crimes they helped facilitate. Unfortunately, your silence on this matter suggests that you have no desire to follow through on promises you made regarding transparency around Epstein’s sex trafficking network. 

Attorney General Bondi made loud proclamations regarding President Trump’s “commitment to transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators.”  Not only has that not been true, but now some have concluded the Administration is covering up these documents to prevent President Trump’s own ties to Jeffrey Epstein from being exposed. If President Trump himself was implicated in Epstein’s network, he must also be held accountable.  

Accordingly, I am resubmitting my original March 11th request for documents, a copy of which you can find attached, and request that you provide this information no later than June 23, 2025. Should you need assistance in locating this information, my investigators stand ready to help you locate these documents. 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, 

Ron Wyden,

United States Senator

Ranking Member, Committee on Finance