Democratic Lawmakers Press Trump Administration On What Was Said To Ted Sarandos Before Netflix Dropped Out Of Bid For Warner Bros.

Updated, with White House comment: A group of Democratic lawmakers are pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for details on a meeting they had with Netflix co-ceo Ted Sarandos last week, with the streaming giant pulling out of its bid for Warner Bros. shortly thereafter.

The lawmakers — Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-ca), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-ma) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-ct) — wrote in a letter that the meeting raised “suspicions that the Trump administration’s DOJ is making merger review decisions based on politicized favoritism rather than the law or the facts.”

Shortly after Sarandos met with Bondi and Wiles at the White House on Thursday, Netflix dropped its bid, ceding the battle for Warner Bros. to Paramount.

The lawmakers wrote, “From the beginning, President Trump reportedly favored Paramount’s bid to take over Warner Bros. As a result of its merger with media…