Mr. Ellison,

I read your recent essay in the New York Times with great interest. Contrary to what some have said, I am glad the Times gave you the space to publish your essay. You are doing a lot of damage to democracy, so it's nice to finally hear from you.

Though I am a lawyer, I cannot speak to the legal objections to your purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. You see, my practice is in protecting free and fair elections. This may seem like small potatoes to someone like you, but it is quite important to many of us.

In your essay, you argued that the American people have misjudged you — that they are wrong about what is in your heart and mind. I want to be clear: I don't care what you think or feel. What I care about is your actions.

And through your actions, you have made it clear who you are trying to please. It is certainly not the American people. It is someone whose name you could not even bear to mention in your essay: Donald Trump.

And that is really the point, isn't it? You want us to think you are motivated by a love of movies and a vague commitment to the news.

In fact, you are just another in a line of powerful men who will do anything to gain Trump’s approval. In this instance, you may want that approval to seal a lucrative business deal, but it is his approval you seek all the same.

During the transition to your leadership, CBS pulled the plug on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" — a show that is often critical of Trump. You claim it was simply business, that the show was losing money. We both know that's not true.

Because less than a year later, your network lawyers barred Colbert from airing an interview with Texas State Rep. James Talarico, a candidate Republicans fear could help flip the Senate.

Under past leaders of the Tiffany Network, late-night hosts have been empowered to speak their minds, and political candidates have been given airtime. That all changed under your watch.

Your essay goes to great lengths to imply that you care about the movie business. I am willing to accept that it is true.

The problem is that Donald Trump doesn't care about the movies at all. I'm sure in your private moments, you mock him as a vulgarian without any appreciation for art. His interior design choices surely speak for themselves.

As you know, however, Trump cares deeply about the news outlets — in particular, CNN. And this sets up a dangerous situation: whether you care to admit it or not, you want to please Trump.

This puts you in a precarious position. You are quick to suggest that the real objection to your purchase is "whether I can be trusted as a steward of Warner's CNN," and you insist that you don't care to tinker with the news programming on CBS or CNN.

Let me be direct: I don't believe you want CNN and CBS News to tell it straight down the middle — I believe you would turn them into OANN if that's what it takes to get the movie studios you covet.

You have already appointed Bari Weiss as Editor-in-Chief of CBS News. You and I both know that Weiss is unqualified to run the once-storied brand.

I know something about this because I, too, have built an online digital news platform from scratch, and I would be woefully unqualified to run a network news division.

But then again, you would never want to buy Democracy Docket for hundreds of millions or put me in charge of the news — because that would upset Donald Trump. That's okay, because I wouldn't sell it to you for ten times that price, and I wouldn't work for you under any conditions.

You may not believe me. You probably think everyone shares your real values — that money is the most important thing. Well, it's not.

And you've already shown what those values produce: under Weiss's leadership, journalists with integrity have been fired and replaced by those willing to treat Trump more favorably.

"60 Minutes" — once a fearless national treasure — has been largely gutted. Over a year ago, I appeared on "60 Minutes" because I trusted the leaders of CBS to report the news with honesty and bravery.

That will be my last appearance on the show. I would never appear on the version of "60 Minutes" that stands — no, wobbles — before us.

I want to address your politics head-on. I understand that you claim to hold both liberal and conservative views. I know you donated nearly $1 million to Joe Biden's presidential campaign.

This is not a sign of moderate politics. It doesn't suggest bipartisanship. Rather, it demonstrates that you lack any core political beliefs.

When being in Biden's good graces made sense for business, you hopped on board. Once Trump returned to power, you were quick to invest even more in him to further your agenda.

The American people have already judged you on these actions, and they have made up their minds. As you rightly point out, only 28 percent of Americans trust the legacy media.

And ironically, in your essay, you seem to understand why. The American people want independent, trustworthy media that isn't beholden to oligarchs and dictators.

But even more ironically, or maybe obtusely, you seem to miss the mark. Because, David, you are the problem. The American people don't trust the legacy media because of people like you.

I took the time to read your essay carefully. I considered your perspective and tried to be fair. I hope you show the same courtesy to those of us who oppose your purchase.

I am not trying to get in the way of your movie ventures, and I have no opinion on your proposed business structure. I just want to be able to hand my children and grandchildren a functioning democracy.

I would hope you and I share that in common, but I think at some point you decided that compromising with Trump was something you could justify. You decided that it was easier to bend the knee than to sacrifice wealth and power. On that, you are wrong.

If you are too afraid to even write Trump's name, the American people will not trust you with the truth — their instinct tells them, from your actions, that you are running from it.

In the decades to come, when this moment has passed, no one will remember this deal. No one will recall the antitrust review.

What they will remember is that at a time when our nation's democracy was in peril, some stood tall against authoritarianism while others simply tried to make deals to get theirs.

I have chosen one path. Sadly, you have chosen the other. That may bring you great wealth in the here and now, but you will end up poorer in the eyes of history.

Defiantly,
Marc Elias