Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has pulled back his attempt to force Paramount to hand over records tied to its planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to Deadline and Variety. The move also sidelines, for now, his request that a state circuit court judge hold up the deal’s closing for 60 days while Oregon reviewed those materials.
The withdrawal matters because Rayfield was using a state civil investigative demand, a legal tool that lets an attorney general seek documents while examining possible legal violations, to probe how Paramount pushed for the transaction. Without that demand in place, Oregon’s immediate effort to slow the merger has stalled.
Jenny Hansson, Rayfield’s communications director, told Deadline that Paramount had made clear it would not comply with the investigative demand. She said the company “think they’re above the law” and added that the office would not let Paramount “waste Oregonians’ resources on these games.” Hansson said Oregon withdrew the motion while it considers what to do next.
Rayfield’s office had been seeking records related to Paramount’s lobbying campaign for the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. According to reporting on the dispute, that lobbying effort carried the internal code name “Project Warrior.” That is the kind of name consultants come up with when they want a document request to sound like a rejected action movie.
What Oregon was trying to see
The Oregon attorney general’s interest centered on Paramount’s lobbying around the deal, rather than the streaming catalog math alone. The documents could have shown how Paramount pressed regulators and government officials as it tried to close the acquisition.
Paramount is run by David and Larry Ellison, who are major supporters of Donald Trump and have ties to the White House, according to the reporting. The deal has also been wrapped in open political pressure around Warner Bros. Discovery’s future owner. During the proceeding, Trump said Netflix, a rival bidder for Warner Bros. Discovery, would “pay the consequences” if it did not remove Susan Rice, a Trump critic, from its board.
That remark does not prove that Paramount’s bid received improper help. It does explain why state officials would want to read the paper trail instead of accepting the usual merger-speak about efficiencies and consumer benefits.
Other challenges are still possible
Oregon’s retreat does not clear the transaction everywhere. California, New York, and the United Kingdom are considering action against the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery deal on antitrust grounds, according to reports cited in the matter.
The entertainment industry has also pushed back. Hollywood actors, directors, and producers have publicly opposed Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
For now, the confirmed change is narrow: Rayfield’s office has withdrawn its demand and related delay effort while it weighs its next steps. Paramount still faces scrutiny elsewhere, and the antitrust fight over who gets to own another giant chunk of Hollywood is not finished.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
