Overview
- In an Oct. 15 letter, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Richard Blumenthal, and Jeff Merkley pressed Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan for details.
- YouTube agreed late last month to pay $24.5 million to resolve Trump’s suspension lawsuit, with $22 million directed to the White House State Ballroom project.
- Lawmakers flagged the sequence of events: Judge Amit Mehta’s narrower antitrust remedies on Sept. 2, Pichai’s White House dinner comments about “constructive dialogue,” then the Sept. 29 settlement.
- The senators warned that if the settlement sought to influence DOJ decisions on antitrust remedies or an appeal, it could implicate federal anti-bribery laws.
- The letter seeks the names of officials involved, any discussions of DOJ actions, and any understandings about favorable treatment, while noting similar settlements with Meta and X.