When CBS announced it would cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, many assumed it was just another business decision. But Senator Elizabeth Warren isn’t buying it. She says it’s part of a much bigger, much darker story—one that involves an $8 billion media merger, $36 million in payouts to Donald Trump, and what she calls “bribery in plain sight.”
Colbert, known for his pointed satire and sharp criticism of Trump, had just taken aim at Paramount Global—the parent company of CBS—for paying a $16 million settlement to Trump’s presidential library, despite the lawsuit it resolved being widely viewed as baseless. Trump later bragged that the total payout would reach $36 million once other promotional payments and deals were complete.
Three days later, CBS canceled Colbert’s show.
Coincidence? Warren doesn’t think so.
In a fiery interview and subsequent Senate letter co-signed by Senators Sanders and Biden, Warren pointed to the timing of the cancellation and the details of the payout as part of a corrupt pattern of influence peddling in the Trump administration. “This reeks of corruption,” she said, calling it a dangerous precedent for the use of executive power.
Warren’s concerns go beyond Colbert. She says this is about Trump using the power of the presidency to both enrich himself and punish critics. According to Warren, Trump is sending a message to institutions: fall in line or risk retaliation.
She points to other examples. ABC News settled a separate defamation case by sending $15 million to Trump’s library fund. Meta reportedly ended its fact-checking program and sent $22 million after Trump sued Mark Zuckerberg. Trump even filed a new lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal after it published details about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Trump is targeting comedians, journalists, academics, and law firms—anyone who might challenge him,” Warren said. “This isn’t just about Colbert. This is about whether we still live in a democracy.”
The merger between Paramount and Skydance, which must be approved by Trump’s administration, remains pending. Skydance CEO David Ellison, son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison, met with FCC Chair Brendan Carr just days before the cancellation. Warren says that raises “serious red flags.”
In response, she has introduced the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act, legislation aimed at preventing presidents from accepting massive donations while in office. The bill would close the loophole that currently allows corporations and foreign governments to funnel tens of millions into a sitting president’s library fund—often without public scrutiny.
Warren is clear-eyed about what’s at stake: “Yes, losing Colbert is a blow. But losing the free press is worse. The moment we stay quiet is the moment democracy begins to die.”
