FCC Members Face Investigation Over Ethics Violations for Accepting Gala Tickets

Two government watchdog groups have called for investigations into allegations that Federal Communications Commission (FCC) members may have violated ethics requirements. The accusations involve accepting luxury gala tickets from Paramount while the company sought government approval for a substantial acquisition worth $111 billion involving Warner Bros. Discovery.

The complaints come from Democracy Defenders Fund and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). They reference a recent ProPublica investigation indicating that CBS, now under Paramount, has given FCC commissioners tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala for years. This occurred even as the FCC reviewed major business decisions by Paramount, including two large mergers.

Commissioner Olivia Trusty reported in her recent financial disclosure that Paramount provided her two tickets to the December 2025 gala, valued together at over $12,000. Trusty and another commissioner had previously voted to approve Paramount’s merger with Skydance last year. The investigation revealed a pattern where FCC members attended the Kennedy Center on CBS’s behalf, totaling more than $260,000 in tickets accepted by seven out of ten commissioners since 2016.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr disclosed receiving honors gala tickets from CBS or its parent company. Since his 2017 appointment, he reported over $75,000 in gifts over eight occasions. Carr, who supported the Paramount-Skydance merger last year, had a privileged seat in a skybox during a gala event, with each ticket purportedly selling for $125,000 according to Kennedy Center guidelines. As of his latest disclosure, Carr accepted 2025 gala tickets from Paramount valued at $12,390, engaging questions about the price discrepancy between standard and skybox tickets.

Federal ethics rules prohibit employees from accepting gifts from entities conducting business with, regulated by, or seeking actions from their agency. According to Democracy Defenders Fund, gift regulations exist to ensure decisions remain free from private influence, and the public should trust the integrity of the FCC’s merger review process.

Both the FCC and involved parties, including Carr and Trusty, have yet to respond to requests for comments. The FCC’s spokesperson previously mentioned that ethics officers consistently allowed commissioners to accept such tickets under ethics laws. Paramount’s chief of communications highlighted a longstanding practice of inviting officials from both political parties to the Kennedy Center event.

The FCC is currently in a critical phase of reviewing the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, a significant consolidation between major Hollywood studios. This merger would bring under one umbrella Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services, CBS, CNN, and various other notable broadcast and digital platforms.

Four ethics experts expressed that accepting such tickets compromised the FCC’s impartiality, advising Trusty and Carr against participating in future decisions on the merger. Democracy Defenders Fund, led by Norman Eisen, submitted its complaint to multiple federal oversight bodies. It suggests that the investigation should verify if gift acceptance breached laws against accepting illegal gratuities. They recommend that Carr and Trusty repay Paramount the true market value of any improper gifts and temporarily withhold the federal agency’s certification of Carr’s annual disclosure until ethics law compliance is ensured.

The organization also requested disqualification for Carr from the FCC’s decision on the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Following last year’s gala, Paramount launched its aggressive bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, culminating in a merger requiring FCC approval. Soon after, Carr endorsed the deal on CNBC, anticipating swift approval.

CREW also called for an FCC inspector general investigation concerning luxury gifts. Their statement outlined that such gifts from businesses involved in billion-dollar mergers necessitating commission approval, and regulation, threaten FCC’s operational integrity. CREW, established in 2003, focuses on government accountability and ethics, led by Donald K. Sherman, a former House Ethics Committee attorney.

“Government officials wield power affecting vast populations,” Sherman remarked. “This power demands a higher ethical standard that apparently was not met. The inspector general must provide public answers.”

The merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery has faced significant legal challenges. Lawsuits were filed by states like California and New York, alongside others, under antimonopoly laws. Groups such as the Writers Guild of America and the Freedom of the Press Foundation have also opposed the merger in court.

Recently, Paramount agreed to delay its merger until either the litigation concludes or until June 1, 2027, whichever is sooner.