Newsom denies pressuring California AG into Paramount settlement after liberal backlash

Gov.

Gavin Newsom , D-Calif., denied Wednesday that he pressured California Attorney General Rob Bonta to settle his antitrust lawsuit with Paramount Skydance Corp. ahead of its proposed merger with Warner Bros.

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Bonta originally led a group of state attorneys general who filed a lawsuit challenging the massive $111 billion deal that was initially expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

By Monday, however, Paramount announced that a settlement had been reached , paving the way for the merger to continue.

Critics of the merger have accused Bonta and Newsom of caving to Paramount amid the settlement after reports suggested CEO David Ellison was considering moving the company's headquarters out of California if a deal was not made, an accusation Newsom denied.

DAVID ELLISON BREAKS SILENCE ON PARAMOUNT-WBD MERGER FIGHT, CNN INSIDERS DON’T BUY ‘LIP SERVICE’ ABOUT NETWORK "I didn’t pressure anybody," Newsom told Axios' Alex Thompson .

"I made the point.

I’ve made it very publicly and consistently and been reported maybe two or three hundred different ways that we, me, many folks, including the mayor, soon-to-be governor-elect [Xavier] Becerra and others, preferred, in the words of Rob Bonta himself, that he focus on getting this done at the boardroom, not the courtroom." "And the minute that Rob said that on CNBC, we amplified that, said this was a better approach.

That was the framework, and he worked hard to deliver for California, and I think he did," Newsom continued.

Bonta confirmed the settlement during a press conference on Monday, although he insisted that it was not done in support of the merger itself.

"This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger; it is not a blessing of the broader merger," Bonta said.

CNN STAFFERS ACCEPT NEW REALITY AS PARAMOUNT'S TAKEOVER OF WARNER BROS DISCOVERY GOES FULL STEAM AHEAD "I am always willing to come to the table for honest, good-faith negotiations, and when we can find a strong solution that protects competition and consumers, I’d rather resolve the case, the issue, in the boardroom instead of the courtroom," Bonta added.

"That’s what happened here." Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom and Bonta's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.