Republican AG Candidate Michael Gates Calls Out Rob Bonta on Paramount Lawsuit

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading a 12-state coalition in a new antitrust lawsuit aimed at halting one of the largest media mergers in history. On Monday, Bonta and attorneys general from 11 other states – California, New York, and others including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington – filed suit in federal court in San Francisco, seeking to block Paramount Skydance Corporation’s proposed $110 billion-plus acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Globe reported.

Bonta’s complaint alleges that the deal would violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act by substantially lessening competition or tending to create a monopoly in key markets, including wide-release theatrical film distribution, anticipated top-grossing (blockbuster) films, and the licensing of basic cable television channels. According to the states, combining two of Hollywood’s major studios would create a dominant player controlling nearly one-third of U.S. theatrical motion pictures and a similar share of basic cable programming.

“Rob Bonta is dead wrong about his newly announced Antitrust case against Paramount/Warner. I have litigated Antitrust. If he had ever stepped foot in a courtroom and practiced law, he’d know too. We need a new Attorney General,” Gates posted to X.

As we reported, Paramount is reportedly considering moving its headquarters and pulling an estimated $30 billion in annual spending out of California if the state’s legal challenge proceeds. 

Adding another twist to the merger amid California’s effort to block Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., the state of Tennessee has invited the David Ellison-owned movie studio to relocate to the “Agriculture and Commerce” state.

The loss to the California economy would be about $30 Billion.

Paramount has made repeated requests to AG Bonta’s office to reach an accommodation that would allow the merger to close. Bonta responded publicly, accusing Paramount of attempting “blackmail” by threatening to relocate operations and spending out of California.

AG Bonta, unable to mask his TDS, held a press conference near the Hollywood sign, framing his lawsuit as protecting markets from “rigged” outcomes and accused the Trump DOJ of favoritism.

Michael Gates, a former Huntington Beach City Attorney and Trump DOJ official, called Bonta’s lawsuit frivolous, politically motivated, and harmful to California businesses. Recently, Gates said that Bonta is “weaponizing” antitrust law and driving companies out of the state, addressing Paramount’s reported consideration of leaving California.

Gates says anyone who has litigated antitrust cases knows the suit is weak and likely to fail, and notes that Bonta is prioritizing high-profile fights over crime in California, and the state’s economic health.

“Rob Bonta is suing to block the Paramount and Warner Brothers merger, and everybody who has looked at this says he is going to lose,” Gates said on X. “He is beating up businesses and driving them out of California. Paramount is threatening to leave. How many businesses do we have to lose before Sacramento stops?”

Rob Bonta is suing to block the Paramount and Warner Brothers merger, and everybody who has looked at this says he is going to lose. 

He is beating up businesses and driving them out of California.

Paramount is threatening to leave. How many businesses do we have to lose before… pic.twitter.com/uG212AN91T

— Vote Michael E. Gates for California Attorney Gen. (@MichaelGatesESQ) July 17, 2026

The 2026 AG race could not be more stark of a contrast: Michael Gates is campaigning on law-and-order, reducing government overreach, and attracting business back to California, while Rob Bonta’s record speaks for itself: multi-state lawsuits against the Trump Administration, federal policies and large corporations, rather than protecting the people of California from criminals.

As of July 2026, there is no running total of Bonta’s lawsuits, but given that he files roughly one-per-week, and the last total of 54 lawsuits was published in January 2026, we are calculating 60 or more lawsuits by the California Attorney General. ““One year ago today, President Trump was sworn in for a second time, and every day since then, he has sought to enact a sweeping, and often illegal, effort to remake America,” said AG Bonta, claiming that he’s defending Trump’s “wholesale attack on California’s people, our values, and our progress.”

Here is the letter Michael Gates sent to AG Bonta addressing not just that Paramount could be chased out of California, but the “dark money” and deep state political operatives in Washington D.C. bolstering Bonta: