Public Integrity Project Files Lawsuit Against Trump Over TikTok Divestiture and Issues Records Demand to Paramount

The Public Integrity Project has sued President Trump for approving the illegal sale of TikTok’s US assets to various administration allies and sued the attorney general for failing to disclose fully the Epstein files in violation of the law. The organization is also laying the foundation for bringing a suit against Paramount for potential quid pro quo with the Trump administration regarding the Warner Bros.

acquisition.

It made a books and records demand to Paramount regarding potential acts of corruption involving the Ellison family and the president. Paramount has five calendar days to respond to the books and records demand. The Public Integrity Project is representing the Foundation for Freedom of the Press and Reporters Without Borders in the Paramount books and records demand.

Both organizations are shareholders in Paramount. David Ellison was trying to buy Paramount when he owned Skydance. Public reporting stated that the Ellisons agreed to a side deal with the president to provide millions of dollars in free advertising for causes he supported to settle a lawsuit against 60 Minutes.

The Verge reported these developments in an interview published on May 14, 2026. Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, said the firm is a new public interest law firm intended to raise the legal and reputational cost of corruption in the United States.

"In a world where the Department of Justice is not interested in pursuing corruption cases, and in some cases may be facilitating corruption, we want to go after the folks inside of government that are being bribed and the folks outside of government that are trying to bribe them," Ballou stated.

The Department of Justice disbanded the Tax Division. It kneecapped the Antitrust Division and disbanded the KleptoCapture Task Force. State attorneys general obtained a big win in the Ticketmaster case a few weeks ago after the federal DOJ abandoned them.

Ballou previously authored the book Plunder about private equity. His latest book, When Companies Run the Courts, examines the rise of forced arbitration. Consumers win 89 percent of the time in small claims court but only 20 percent to 30 percent of the time in forced arbitration.

Consumers representing themselves without a lawyer win less than 10 percent of the time in forced arbitration. 2 percent of the time. Arbitration outcomes are almost always kept secret.

Jeffrey Piccolo’s wife died of anaphylactic shock after eating at a Disney World restaurant. Disney attempted to compel Jeffrey Piccolo into forced arbitration because he had signed up for Disney+ years earlier. Disney changed its position and backed down from forcing arbitration after massive public pushback.

A woman who worked on a cruise ship alleged she was raped by a coworker and was compelled into arbitration in the Philippines. Ballou said the legal system has changed over the past four decades to benefit large companies and put them beyond the reach of the law.

"When they represent themselves without a lawyer, it might be less than 10%. " The Public Integrity Project's actions come as federal enforcers appear indifferent to corporate corruption. Lower federal courts have shown willingness to act against perceived corruption even as the Supreme Court remains supportive of the administration.

Ballou expressed optimism that state attorneys general, private plaintiffs and organizations like his can still use existing legal tools effectively.