California AG Bonta Faces $1 Million Donation Scrutiny Over $110 Billion Paramount Suit
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 9
California AG Bonta Faces $1 Million Donation Scrutiny Over $110 Billion Paramount Suit
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 9
Summary
$1 million from Patty Quillin, wife of Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, to a PAC later giving $150,000 to a pro-Bonta committee is fueling Republican demands to investigate whether Bonta's Paramount lawsuit was a political favor.
Bonta's office denied any donor influence, saying it announced in February it was reviewing a Warner Bros. purchase by either Netflix or Paramount and sued only after antitrust analysis found risks to competition and consumer choice.
The office did not directly answer questions about contacts with Netflix, Hastings or Quillin, possible recusal, or whether it disputed the campaign-finance figures cited by critics.
Bonta's complaint says the merged company would control about 27% of wide-release film distribution and basic-cable licensing, but the Justice Department cleared the deal after an eight-month review and Britain's regulator approved it Thursday.
That leaves California's 12-state case as the main remaining obstacle to Paramount's $110 billion acquisition, with trial set for March and Paramount agreeing not to close before a merits ruling due by June 2027.