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Tweets and Bluesky posts from Brian Selzer at CNN:
California @AGRobBonta tells @JakeTapper "we are likely to make a request to have trial in 2027, which is very appropriate based on the expert discovery that needs to happen... before a trial can and should go forward."
This is a major setback for Paramount that adds to the cloud of doubt hovering over the controversial deal to buy WBD. Full story for CNN here:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/24/media/paramount-warner-bros-discovery-merger-
Brian Selzer also said:
@RichLightShed notes that “even if Paramount loses in District Court, this would accelerate the time frame for an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court and potentially to the Supreme Court in 2027.”
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From Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal:
Joe Flint@JBFlint
California AG Rob Bonta said in an interview he would like the trial to start in 2027. I'm guessing Paramount would like it to be a little quicker than that.
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Earlier this year, the WHCA (White House Correspondents Association) Dinner was interrupted and shut down partway through the event, due to the presence of a shooter elsewhere in the building. Tr*mp was annoyed that he didn't get to speak that night.
July 24, 2026 there was a "do-over" White House Correspondents dinner so that Tr*mp could speak.
What is noteworthy about the Dinner for this topic of the merger:
Executives from Paramount/Skydance were present at the dinner -- and other reporters got scoop.
Tr*ump gave a long speech insulting the press but complimenting David Ellison.
Brian Stelter on the Tr*mp speech:
Invoking the fact that Paramount owns CBS News, Trump said Paramount CEO David Ellison is "going to make, I think, fantastic changes and keep some of the great stuff going."
Ted Johnson from Deadline was at the July 24 WHCA dinner.
Ted Johnson @tedstew
"Makan Delrahim, Paramount’s chief legal officer, is at the WHCA dinner and says that they will seek a November trial date in the WBD merger."
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Regarding how the merger situation affects CNN:
From Brian Selzer
Today's delay to the Paramount-WBD deal means that, as a practical matter, Paramount will not take control of CNN before the midterm election in the U.S.
As I have previously reported, some CNN journalists had told me they hoped the deal would be delayed until after the midterms. (The theory being that if Democrats win control of the House, the political environment will change, and Paramount will feel less pressure to align itself with Trump.)
Of course, in a newsroom as big as CNN, there are a wide variety of views about corporate ownership. But one widely held view is that this current, protracted period of uncertainty is bad for business — making it harder to maintain morale, harder to recruit employees, harder to plan for the future.
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janea4old ·
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