Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ron Wyden (D-Ore), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore) have demanded answers from Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google executives about the company's $24.5 million settlement with President Donald Trump.
Lawmakers Question Timing And White House Meeting
In a letter sent Wednesday, the senators asked Google to explain how the YouTube settlement was reached and whether it coincided with discussions between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Trump during a White House dinner earlier this fall.
"The public deserves to know what ‘constructive dialogue' the Trump administration and Google had, given that Google and the Trump administration are opposing parties in the antitrust case," the lawmakers wrote.
The letter follows YouTube's decision last month to pay $22 million directly to Trump, who said the funds would go toward rebuilding the White House State Ballroom.
The settlement resolved a lawsuit Trump filed over YouTube's decision to suspend his channel after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
See Also: Google Tightens ‘Work From Anywhere' Policy, With Even 1 Remote Day Counting As Full Week: Report
Ongoing Antitrust Case Heightens Scrutiny
The senators noted that the Justice Department won a ruling against Google for maintaining an illegal monopoly in online search. However, Judge Amit Mehta stopped short of ordering a breakup of the company.
Mehta instead imposed restrictions on Google's exclusive deals and required it to share certain data with competitors.
Following the decision, the DOJ said it was still considering whether to appeal for stricter remedies.
The senators now want to know if YouTube's payout to Trump could "influence the Trump Justice Department's decision" regarding that appeal.
Google Is Not Alone, Others Also Settled With Trump
The YouTube deal was the third major settlement between Trump and social media platforms over his post–Jan. 6 bans. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) agreed to pay $25 million in January, while Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, reached a $10 million settlement in February.
In July, Sen. Warren also called for an immediate investigation into Trump’s green light for Paramount Global's $8 billion merger with Skydance, alleging it could have included a "big fat bribe."
The company, now called Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY), reported plans to bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD).
Price Action: Alphabet Inc.'s Class A shares climbed 2.27% on Wednesday, with Class C shares up 2.24%, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings show that GOOG maintains strong price momentum across short, medium and long-term periods. A full breakdown of its performance metrics is available here.
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