A trio of senators have written a letter to Shari Redstone, the chair of Paramount Global, expressing “serious concern” about the possibility that it “may be engaging in improper conduct involving the Trump administration” to settle a lawsuit involving CBS News and win approval of a merger with Skydance Media.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote that Paramount appears to be “trying to settle” a $20 billion lawsuit Trump filed against CBS and “60 Minutes” before the 2024 election, even though it had previously assessed the suit as “completely without merit.”

The senators say that that Paramount, the parent company of CBS, appears to be “moderating the content of its programs in order to obtain approval of this merger” after Bill Owens, the former executive producer of CBS’s “60 Minutes,” resigned because of concerns about losing journalistic independence.

“Under the federal bribery statute, it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value to public officials to influence an official act,” they wrote. “If Paramount officials make these concessions in a quid pro quo arrangement to influence President Trump or other Administration officials, they may be breaking the law.”

The senators asked Redstone to provide information about any concessions Paramount is making to Trump “in exchange for favorable action by his administration.”

Trump sued CBS in October claiming “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference” in response to a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, which was edited in a way that Trump claimed was deceitful.

CBS later posted the transcripts of its interview with Harris and said it didn’t air anything “doctored or deceitful.”

In one instance, “60 Minutes” edited down a wordy answer Harris provided on Israel to just 20 words but the program said the cuts were made for time, space and clarity.

CBS asked the Federal Communications Commission in March to end an investigation of the matter and warned the government’s scrutiny infringed on its right to free speech.

The Democratic and independent senators noted that CBS filed a motion in March to dismiss the lawsuit and called it a misapplication of the law and an “outrageous violation of First Amendment principles.”

“Now, Paramount appears to be walking back its commitments to defend CBS’s First Amendment rights,” they wrote, noting that months before Trump filed his lawsuit, Paramount and Skydance announced a deal to merge for $8 billion.

“Paramount appears to be attempting to appease the Administration in order to secure merger approval,” they wrote.

And they flagged what they believe to be efforts by Paramount executives to screen content aired at CBS to avoid angering Trump.

They pointed out that Owens resigned last month after telling staff that “it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ’60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.”

They also highlighted CBS News and Stations President Wendy McMahon’s decision to resign after praising Owens’s decision.

“Paramount’s scheme to curry favor with the Trump Administration has compromised journalistic independence and raises serious concerns of corruption and improper conduct,” they wrote.

The senators asked whether Paramount now believes Trump’s lawsuit has merit and whether Redstone or any other executives have discussed settling the lawsuit. They asked for specific information about the timing and nature of those talks.

They also asked Redstone to explain changes to Paramount’s “mediation” of “60 Minutes” content to facilitate the approval of Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance.