David Ellison held an event at the US Institute of Peace on Thursday in honor of Donald Trump, where the president reportedly spoke to guests for about an hour.
According to what was stated in Friday’s report The timesCBS News executives and journalists were in attendance, including Barry Weiss and Norah O’Donnell. Acting Prosecutor Todd Blanche was also present. The Justice Department, which Blanche oversees, must still approve Paramount’s massive $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Invitations to Thursday’s event, which were provided by Paramount and named Ellison as host, described the night as a “White House tribute to Trump.”
WBD shareholders approved Ellison’s impending Paramount merger on Tuesday, bringing the deal closer to completion.
Trump made his remarks at dinner for about an hour, The times According to Paramount Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim; Secretary of State Marco Rubio; White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also attended.
Anonymous journalists told CBS News The times They were “surprised” by the dinner, concerned that it might send a message of “affection” between the newsroom and the Trump administration.
The event came just days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, which Trump will attend. CBS News, backed by Paramount, plans to bring Minister Pete Hegseth to the dinner.
And on Saturday night too Wall Street Journal She will accept the Katharine Graham Courage and Accountability Award, which “honors an individual or newsgathering team for reporting on topics and events of significant national or regional significance consistent with the humanitarian and professional qualities embodied by the late Katharine Graham.”
The acknowledging piece was published on July 17, and was titled, “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Lewd Messages on His 50th Birthday. One Was From Donald Trump.” It is worth noting that the report was what prompted Trump to file a defamation lawsuit against him Wall Street Journal Owner of News Corp., which details a 2003 letter from him to Jeffrey Epstein in which he wrote that they shared a “wonderful secret.”
A federal judge in Florida dismissed the lawsuit in April. U.S. District Judge Darren B. Giles wrote in an order dismissing the lawsuit that Trump’s legal team failed to argue that the article was published by those named in the complaint with malicious intent.
