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12 States Sue To Block Paramount Deal To Buy Warner Bros. Discovery; Primary Pits Progressives Vs. Moderates In Must-Win Senate Seat; Judge: Trump Sought To "Manipulate The Judicial Process" With His IRS Lawsuit And Attempted $1.8 Billion Payout Fund; Remembering "The 3 Amigos": Graham, Lieberman, & McCain. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired July 13, 2026 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[12:30:16]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news about what the -- what could be one of the biggest media deals ever, and it involves CNN's parent company. A group of state attorneys general from 12 states suing to block Paramount's deal to buy all of Warner Brothers Discovery, including this company, CNN. And that's after the Trump Justice Department already gave its approval.

I'm going to bring in CNN's Brian Stelter now with the details. Brian, what is this lawsuit specifically?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, the states say that this merger is the biggest in Hollywood history and just plain too big. This is a classic antitrust lawsuit filed in Northern California. It argues that by putting Paramount and Warner Brothers together, it'll hurt competition in the marketplace and ultimately hurt consumers. Paramount rejects that and says this deal is pro-competitive.

So let me show you what both sides are saying. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the 12-state coalition. He's about to hold a press conference in L.A. He says in a statement that this unlawful merger would, quote, "lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and TV, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S."

Now, Paramount's been bracing for this potential lawsuit. So it's been pointing out in recent statements that regulators in other markets all around the world have already blessed this deal. Over the weekend, Paramount said, quote, "This transaction will create a stronger challenger to dominant global streaming and technology platforms, it'll expand consumer choice, it'll increase investment in premium content and theatrical distribution, and create more opportunities for creators and workers."

So you can tell Paramount's going to contest this state-level lawsuit vigorously. It has already retained a Supreme Court litigator in case it gets to that point. Paramount says that it needs to be able to get bigger to compete with big tech companies. But now, Dana, a judge will have to weigh in and start to assess the situation.

BASH: And, Brian, let's take a step back and sort of look at the politics of this. This is --

STELTER: Yes.

BASH: -- antitrust is a federal situation. And, as we mentioned, the Trump Justice Department already signed off on this merger. And the fact that you now have the states and the attorneys general in the states trying to stop it, talk more about that.

STELTER: And we've seen this so far this year with Ticketmaster and also with a big merger that was attempted between Nexstar and Tegna that the states successfully have slowed down. State officials tell me in preparation for this lawsuit, they believe the Trump administration has abdicated its antitrust responsibilities. They believe the cop has walked off the beat.

And so these states, and these are all Democrats in all 12 states, Democratic state attorneys general, they believe they have to fill in the gaps that the Trump administration is leaving. As one of these state officials said to me, someone's got to do it.

So they are bringing these lawsuits, and today it's Paramount-WBD, but there have been others this year as well where Democratic states are taking action when Republican administrators in Washington are not. Now, Paramount allies and executives even at the company have said to me they view this as a campaign stunt by these Democrats, since some of these state attorneys general are up for re-election this year.

But Paramount's critics have said this merger has a political cloud hovering over it all along. They assert the merger is a politically loaded move that hands control of CNN and other media assets to a Trump-aligned family. And there are many in Washington who believe the deal was greenlit by the Justice Department because of that cozy relationship.

In fact, the Wall Street Journal reported that officials at the Justice Department who were reviewing the deal, the career staffers who were not involved in the politics, that those career staffers were inclined to oppose the Paramount-WBD merger, but Trump appointees weighed in and gave the green light.

So those are some of the political arguments that are going to play out now that the states have filed suit. And anyone, you know, it's kind of anyone's guess what will happen next. Will a judge try to step in and slow down the deal? Will Paramount countersue? Those are some of the questions now, Dana.

BASH: Thank you so much for jumping on and giving us the news and putting it in all that context with your great reporting. Brian, thank you. And we are following more breaking news of federal judges' stunning rebuke of President Trump's lawsuit against the IRS and the consequences his attorneys could now face, including the man he is appointing and wants to be confirmed as attorney general. We'll explain after the break.

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[12:39:04]

BASH: Just three weeks remain in the messy Michigan Democratic primary where the question is, who will the Democratic Party nominee be, and who is the Democratic Party? That's on full display in this purple state. Key establishment Democrats are increasingly worried that the progressive candidate, Abdul El-Sayed, could blow the party's chances of holding on to a critical seat.

Inside Politics' own Manu Raju pushed El-Sayed yesterday on the party worry that a progressive candidate can win the primary but maybe not the general election.

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ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: The worry you're hearing from the establishment in my party isn't about whether or not I could lose, it's about whether or not I might win. And actually challenge them on the fact that our party is supposed to be a party for working people, not for corporations. Forgive me for actually wanting to regulate trillionaires and billionaires so that we can build schools and roads.

I know you guys really desperately want to put me into a category. I'm just saying that take me on what I tell you that I'm trying to do. I've been very, very clear and consistent about the fact I just think billionaires should pay their fair share so our kids get to go to good schools. It's not that radical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:40:11]

BASH: Panels here, including Manu. Manu, that is kind of the quintessential argument of sort of the Bernie class of candidates who are running, and he is pushing that big time. But there are other issues that are leading to the worry of some of the more establishment Democrats, and that includes another issue that you pushed him on, which is an old clip of him using the phrase defund the police.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and he downplayed that past remark that was actually found by our colleagues at KFile initially, because he had said, well, I never really called for defunding the police after he was found that he had deleted some posts promoting defunding the police. Of course, that was right after 2020, right after George Floyd. He was not a candidate at the time.

He downplayed those comments saying they'd look at the totality of my remarks. But I try to ask him about the electability issue, because that is really the central question here. Yes, you can try to explain away those defunding police comments, for instance. But you know that's going to be played again and again in a loop in a general election. That's the kind of thing that worries Democratic leaders.

Now, his argument and the Bernie Sanders and that wing of the party saying he is someone who can fire up the base, he is a very good and shrewd campaigner, he's a very smart individual as well, and his positions are the ones that the party is based in particular really resonates with them, whether it's Medicare for All, whether it's his hardline stance against the Israeli government.

Those are things that liberals in particular, they -- it speaks to them in that state, in that race. And the Democratic leaders, of course, will say those are things that put off those swing voters. That's why they want Haley Stevens, who is one in the swing district, a much more moderate candidate and someone who does not go nearly as far as El-Sayed on those key issues.

BASH: And one of the many ways where these two Democratic candidates really do represent different perspectives and also different approaches to campaigning is that Haley Stevens is now at every turn talking about her connection to and work with the Obama administration, particularly on the auto industry in Michigan. Watch this.

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REP. HALEY STEVENS (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: What Obama did and what I was a part of, you know, not as the one who was in front of the cameras, not as the one sending tweets, but as the one who was there late at night working, right, taking the calls from Michigan.

And as someone who, you know, was the only person from Michigan on the auto rescue team in the administration of Barack Obama.

BARACK OBAMA, 44TH U.S. PRESIDENT: Haley Stevens, by the way, she was there. She was a critical part of my team that helped the American auto industry come roaring back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So obviously the auto industry, it's a no brainer for campaigning on in Michigan. Working in Washington for an administration, even if it's Barack Obama, that is it -- I think it's a gamble in this kind of environment and this climate in the Democratic Party and where the energy is in the base.

SHELBY TALCOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, SEMAFOR: Yes, I do agree with that. And I think it really shows when you put that clip side by side with what El-Sayed is saying, the -- these are two different Democratic Parties almost fighting for what the future of the Democratic Party is going to represent, right?

Are we going to go back to the Obama era? Are we going to be more establishment? Are we going to be more middle of the road? Or are we going to shift more to the progressive sides? And what I can tell you is when I talk to Republicans, they're hoping that the progressives are successful in some of these races because they think it's too far for some of these purple states, right?

We've talked about New York a lot. They say New York is a different ballgame. It is much more blue and it's much more progressive than some of these purple states. And they're hoping that these progressives continue their sort of takeover of the Democratic Party.

You're seeing the White House already talk about. They have their messaging down in the past few weeks. I've noticed they're talking about communism, they're talking about law and order, they're talking about crime, right? That's what they're going to be talking about in the midterms and they feel like progressives getting elected are going to help them with that messaging.

BASH: And meanwhile, Aaron, we have seen a slew of Bernie Sanders' 2026 endorsements winning their primaries with his backing and the backing of that energized base that we were talking about. If you go through the House, down through governor's races and beyond, I'm just putting them up on the screen, there are a lot of them.

Yes, he lost a few, but certainly he is winning a lot more than he has in the past. And he would argue that the base is catching up with the same message that he's been preaching for decades. He's just moved step-by-step from the sidelines to center stage.

[12:45:09]

AARON BLAKE, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, I think there's some truth to that. And I think what's really important about this race is, you know, we can talk about the Bernie Sanders endorsees who won and have lost. We can talk about all the DSA candidates who have been winning in places like New York City, Colorado recently, defeating Diana DeGette.

But these kinds of candidates have not generally won in swing seats and in swing states in these major races where they go on to the general election and we see this kind of put on trial for a very competitive electorate. I think if you're a progressive, if you're a Bernie Sanders backer, you see Abdul El-Sayed as a chance to prove that this can work in a state like that, that we can nominate these kind of candidates in these kinds of races.

Because the Democratic base has actually been pretty pragmatic about these kinds of things. They've gone for candidates like Haley Stevens before. But I don't know that that's necessarily what they're looking for in this day and age. They might be shifting a little bit on that question.

BASH: That's such a good point.

All right, when we come back, we are going to bring you some major breaking news. A federal judge unleashes on the Trump administration's case against the IRS the creation of the now defunct Anti- Weaponization Fund. You want to listen to what that judge said. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:45]

BASH: Breaking news, a federal judge is accusing President Trump and his attorneys of seeking to, quote, "manipulate the judicial process" with his lawsuit against the IRS. That lawsuit notably led to an attempted $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund. And in a stunning move, the judge is referring the President's attorney and senior Justice Department officials to state bar authorities.

CNN's Evan Perez joins us now. Evan, what exactly did the judge say? And help us understand what this is all about and what it means.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a scathing ruling from this judge, Judge Kathleen Williams, down in the Southern District of Florida. She'd been overseeing this lawsuit that President Trump and his sons and his organization had filed against the IRS and the U.S. government for the leak of his tax information. This was filed in 2026, more than two years after the leak had happened and after that whole issue had been resolved.

And so that's one of the first problems with this case. But in the end, the Justice Department decided to do that settlement with the President of the United States. And of course, you remember that they had announced that they were going to do a $1.776 billion fund, which would benefit people who had attacked the Capitol in January 6th.

The judge is calling out this entire thing, saying that this was essentially an attempt to defraud the court, because this was not really an adverse litigation. This was not the President suing an adverse party, but rather because the President controls the Justice Department and his own former personal lawyer, essentially, was involved in this, that there was really no two separate sides on this.

I'll read you just a part of what she writes in her ruling. She says, "This lawsuit was not brought to vindicate rights. It was brought to manipulate the judicial process to pursue benefits unavailable in litigation because the parties would not adverse defendant's conduct is equally unattainable."

Now, one of the things that she calls out is obviously the marketing of this, right? That the administration did this $1.776 billion fund. She also points out that after Todd Blanche said that the fund was dead, he has refused to say, in writing, that it is dead forever, that there is not some other version of this that could be resuscitated.

Of course, Dana, all of this is important timing, because of course, Todd Blanche is headed for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday before the Senate. He is now trying to be the permanent Attorney General after Pam Bondi was fired. And so this judge is calling into question not only the conduct of the President and his lawyers, but also the Justice Department. He's pointing out that they're really not very independent at all in this matter. Dana?

BASH: And just to sort of bottom line it, tell me if I'm reading this right, that this judge is effectively saying that Todd Blanche, who is the Acting Attorney General, and is going to be, as you mentioned, up on Capitol Hill this week for confirmation to be the permanent Attorney General, maybe should be disbarred.

PEREZ: Right, I mean, she's referring him to the bar associations, and look, that process takes a long time, and she's not really saying what should happen. She's leaving it up to those bar associations, but she's definitely calling that conduct and questioning the ethics of the Acting Attorney General, as well as Stanley Woodward, who is the number three official at the Justice Department.

He represented some former January 6th clients, and also, I should point out, she also referred two other lawyers down in Florida who were representing the President as -- in his private capacity, as plaintiffs, essentially. Again, she's calling the entire thing a farce, because she said it was essentially an attempt to use the court as cover for a thing that they had already worked out behind the scenes.

BASH: Really remarkable. Let's see where this goes.

Thank you so much, Evan, for that breaking news.

PEREZ: Thanks.

BASH: Coming up, from barback to U.S. Senator, we're going to take you inside the small-town South Carolina bar that launched Lindsey Graham's extraordinary journey.

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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If you're thinking about public service, here's the formula. Work hard, know what you're talking about, and people will listen to you. Pick a cause worthy of a good fight. Fight hard and be willing to forgive and ask for forgiveness. And above all else, when you make a mistake, admit it.

Repeat, repeat until you die. The next thing you know, the nation will hold you up.

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[12:57:36]

BASH: That was one of the many interviews I did with Senator Lindsey Graham over the years. He was honoring his dear friend, John McCain, there after his death in 2018, alongside Democrat-turned-independent Senator Joe Lieberman. They were known as the three amigos. Now, all three are gone.

And so was that era of the Senate that they helped define. I was fortunate to talk to the senators about their extraordinary friendship. Here's how Senator Lieberman summed it up.

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SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: The trips the three of us had, the things we learned together, the great times we had, the way in which I believe we represented America, the times we spent with the men and women of the American Armed Services, this was a treasure. And to have the friendship of John McCain and Lindsey Graham as I was blessed to have had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: In 2017, I moderated a town hall with John McCain and Lindsey Graham. You could hear the admiration in McCain's voice as he spoke about his friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: He's entertaining, he's dedicated. And, by the way, his beginnings were rather humble. As many of you may not know, including the fact that he raised his sister after his parents died. It's quite a great American success story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: When Senator Graham ran for President in June of 2015, he announced in his hometown of Central South Carolina, I spoke to his sister Darline that day about those humble beginnings. She gave me a tour of the family bar where they grew up, living and working.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: This room was not your bedroom. It wasn't your brother Lindsey's bedroom. It wasn't your parents' bedroom. It was the room where you lived?

DARLINE GRAHAM, SISTER OF LINDSEY GRAHAM: It was the one room where we all slept, we all ate, we watched TV, the sofa, everything was in the one room. Even when my parents were alive, they worked really long, hard hours running a small business.

So even then, he was a caregiver to me. He's always been more than a brother, but especially when my parents passed away, he took on that father role more so than ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And Lindsey Graham adopted Darline so she could receive his military benefits. Senator Graham will be remembered by so many in South Carolina, here in Washington, and across the world, but no one will miss him more than Darline, who has lost a brother, who never stopped taking care of her. May his memory be a blessing.

Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts right now.