Overview
- ProPublica’s July 15, 2026 report found that FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty accepted costly Kennedy Center Honors tickets and private skybox access tied to Paramount and Paramount Skydance while the company sought agency approvals.
- Public filings and reporting show Carr accepted roughly $63,000 in Kennedy Center tickets dating back to 2017 and Trusty accepted about $12,000 in tickets after voting for a Paramount-related merger, while the source of Carr’s most recent skybox seats remains unclear because his latest disclosure was not yet public.
- Multiple ethics experts told reporters that accepting gifts from a company overseen by the FCC creates at least the appearance of a conflict and urged recusals, while the FCC said attendance at the event has long been cleared by agency ethics officers.
- The timing of the gifts matters because the FCC reviews broadcast license transfers that are legally required for Paramount’s proposed $110 billion consolidation with Warner Bros. Discovery, which is also facing lawsuits from 12 state attorneys general, a Writers’ Guild suit, and a UK competition inquiry.
- The disclosures could prompt greater oversight and legal scrutiny of commissioners’ conduct, erode public trust in media regulation, and put a spotlight on gaps or delays in financial disclosure rules that make it hard to trace who provided high-value access.