Federal Communications Commission officials accepted expensive gifts from Paramount, including gala tickets worth thousands of dollars, at a time when the company needed regulatory approval for major corporate deals. ProPublica's investigation found that Commissioner Olivia Trusty and Chair Brendan Carr attended the Kennedy Center's honours gala in December, courtesy of Paramount, despite federal ethics rules prohibiting officials from accepting gifts from companies their agency regulates or that seek official action from it. Ethics experts say the arrangement represents a clear conflict of interest given the FCC's ongoing oversight of Paramount's business dealings.

Trusty, who voted in July to approve Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, later received gala tickets worth over $12,000 from the company. Carr and his wife sat in a private skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison, seats that reportedly sold for $125,000 each, and records show he has accepted such tickets at least seven times since 2017, totalling more than $63,000. The gala took place as Paramount was pursuing a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal now requiring FCC approval and forming part of a proposed $110 billion consolidation of major Hollywood studios. Ethics specialists, including former government ethics chief Walter Shaub, argue that both commissioners should recuse themselves from any future decisions on the merger given the appearance of impropriety.