Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison participated in a November 2020 phone call about challenging Donald Trump’s election defeat. Six years later, his family’s interests in CNN, CBS and TikTok’s US operations raise fresh questions about political influence ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, participated in a previously undisclosed November 2020 telephone call involving senior Donald Trump allies discussing challenges to Trump’s election defeat. Six years later, with his family financially backing a media empire encompassing CNN and CBS, and Oracle holding a significant stake in TikTok’s American operations, questions are mounting about the potential influence of politically connected billionaires ahead of the 3 November 2026 midterm elections.
The 2020 phone call: Ellison was already involved
On 14 November 2020, just days after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election, Larry Ellison joined a telephone conversation involving influential figures seeking to challenge the result.
According to an investigation published by The Washington Post on 20 May 2022, participants included:
- Larry Ellison
- Lindsey Graham
- Sean Hannity
- Jay Sekulow
- James Bopp Jr.
Ellison is Oracle’s co-founder and a Republican donor. Graham was a Republican senator for South Carolina, Hannity a Fox News presenter and Trump ally, Sekulow an attorney for Trump and Bopp a lawyer representing True the Vote, an organisation pursuing allegations of election fraud.
The significance of the call emerged through court filings and correspondence connected to True the Vote. Catherine Engelbrecht, the organisation’s founder, described the conversation in an email sent to a donor that evening.
According to the correspondence, Bopp had explained the organisation’s activities, and those on the call requested an urgent preliminary report intended to support their efforts.
“to be used to rally their troops internally”
The email was particularly revealing because it placed Ellison directly in a discussion involving political figures, lawyers and activists working to challenge Trump’s defeat. The Washington Post independently confirmed his presence through a participant in the call.
What was Ellison doing on that call?
That question remains unanswered.
Two days later, True the Vote donor Fred Eshelman asked why Ellison had participated and whether his involvement concerned technology, data analysis or financial support.
The reporting did not establish what Ellison personally said during the conversation, whether he subsequently contributed to the group’s efforts or whether he participated in further calls.
One participant suggested the technology executive might have been consulted about allegations concerning electronic voting machines, although this was not independently established.
There is no evidence from the reporting that Ellison committed an offence.
But his presence is significant. He was not simply an outside donor watching events unfold. He was present during discussions involving prominent figures engaged in efforts to contest Trump’s election defeat.
The distinction matters when examining his political connections and business interests six years later.
From the 2020 election challenge to the 2026 media empire
Fast-forward to October 2026, and the Ellison family’s position in American media looks substantially different.
On 6 October, Paramount Skydance completed its approximately $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The combined company, renamed Skydance, brought together some of the largest entertainment and news properties in the United States.
Crucially, it placed two major national news organisations, CBS News and CNN, under the same corporate ownership.
David Ellison, Larry’s son, leads the business alongside co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz. Larry Ellison helped finance the expansion.
David has pledged to protect the editorial independence of the news organisations.
However, the combination of extensive media holdings, considerable financial resources and the family’s relationship with Trump has intensified scrutiny of the company’s editorial safeguards.
TikTok: A different kind of influence
The Ellison family’s expanding media interests are only part of the picture.
Oracle is also one of the principal investors in the American operation of TikTok, a platform used by millions of people to consume news, political commentary and entertainment.
In January 2026, TikTok established a new majority American-owned joint venture designed to satisfy US national security requirements.
Oracle, Silver Lake and investment firm MGX each acquired 15% of the venture, while ByteDance retained 19.9%.
Under the arrangement, the American entity is responsible for protecting user information and overseeing aspects of TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, using Oracle’s cloud infrastructure.
That gives Oracle an important role in the platform’s technology and governance.
But it does not establish that Larry Ellison personally decides which videos appear in users’ feeds. Nor is there verified evidence that he has directed TikTok to promote Republican candidates, suppress Democratic content or influence the 2026 midterm elections.
Nevertheless, recommendation algorithms can shape what users encounter, making transparency and independent oversight important issues.
Who authorises significant algorithmic changes? How can outside researchers detect political bias? What safeguards exist against pressure from investors or government officials?
Those are legitimate questions for any major social media platform.
CNN and CBS: The oversight board that arrives after the election
The question of editorial independence has become particularly sensitive following the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition.
As part of a legal settlement involving state attorneys general and other challengers to the merger, Skydance agreed to establish a five-member News Editorial Independence Board covering CNN and CBS News.
The board is intended to monitor journalistic standards and help protect news operations against improper interference.
But there is an important detail in the agreement.
Skydance has until 4 April 2027 to establish the board.
That is approximately five months after Americans vote in the 2026 midterms.
Media specialists have questioned whether the board will have sufficient authority to intervene in editorial disputes or challenge corporate leadership.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who helped bring the legal challenge, has said he would have preferred CNN and CBS to be separately owned.
There are also competing considerations.
CNN chief executive Mark Thompson has retained his position, while David Ellison has expressed support for CNN’s legal challenge concerning White House press access.
Those actions indicate that the relationship between the new owners and the Trump administration cannot simply be reduced to an assumption that every editorial decision will favour the president.
Nevertheless, the absence of the promised oversight board during the election period remains a legitimate concern.
A wider investigation into potential midterm interference
The debate surrounding media influence comes against a broader backdrop of concern about the 2026 elections.
On 14 October, Reuters published a detailed investigation into nine possible ways the Trump administration could interfere with the midterm process.
The news agency interviewed more than 50 election officials, experts and lawyers, examining issues including federal authority, voting restrictions, election administration and challenges to election results.
The scenarios were assessments of possible risks, not evidence that every scenario would occur.
The administration maintains that its election-related initiatives are intended to strengthen election integrity.
The Reuters investigation did not establish that Larry Ellison was part of a plan to interfere with voting or the certification of results.
Election interference and media influence are not the same thing
There is a critical difference between manipulating an election’s official results and influencing the political information available to voters.
The first concerns matters such as ballots, voting procedures, counting and certification.
The second involves editorial decisions, news coverage, social media recommendations and the information that reaches the electorate.
Controlling or financing a media company does not automatically mean an owner dictates its journalism.
Equally, ownership concentration and political relationships can create legitimate concerns about whether adequate protections are in place.
Establishing improper interference requires evidence of actual conduct, not simply identifying connections between politicians and wealthy business figures.
Why Larry Ellison’s 2020 involvement matters now
The November 2020 phone call changes the context in which Ellison’s present-day interests should be examined.
It establishes that he had direct contact with influential Trump allies during discussions about challenging an election defeat.
That is more substantial than simply knowing he donated money to Republican causes or hosted political fundraising events.
However, his presence on the call does not establish that he personally promoted false fraud allegations, manipulated voting systems or participated in unlawful conduct.
Nor does it prove that the same discussions or objectives have carried over into 2026.
What it does establish is a documented connection to the political efforts surrounding Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 result.
When considered alongside the Ellison family’s financial backing of major news organisations and Oracle’s involvement in TikTok, that history provides a clear public-interest reason to examine how decisions affecting political information are made.
So, could Larry Ellison help Trump influence the midterms?
There is currently no verified evidence that Larry Ellison intends to rig the November 2026 elections.
But there are three documented facts that deserve public scrutiny.
First, Ellison participated in a November 2020 call discussing efforts to challenge Trump’s election defeat.
Second, his family now financially backs a media group controlling both CNN and CBS, with the promised independent editorial oversight board not required to be in place until after the midterms.
Third, Oracle is a major shareholder and technology provider in TikTok’s American operation.
Together, these developments raise important questions about transparency, political relationships and the independence of organisations that shape public debate.
They are not proof of a conspiracy, but neither should they be dismissed as irrelevant.
With the 3 November elections approaching, the question is not simply whether Larry Ellison has influence. It is whether the organisations in which he and his family hold significant interests have sufficiently transparent and independent safeguards to prevent that influence from being improperly exercised.
Fish 4 News will continue examining those safeguards and any documented evidence of political interference as the elections approach.
Sources
- The Washington Post: Larry Ellison joined November 2020 election challenge call (20 May 2022)
- Reuters: Paramount completes Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition (6 October 2026)
- Associated Press: TikTok finalises new American entity (23 January 2026)
- Reuters: CNN and CBS News oversight board concerns (22 September 2026)
- Vanity Fair: Editorial independence board (15 October 2026)
- Reuters: Nine ways the Trump administration could interfere with the midterms (14 October 2026)
