An Oscars Scandal, Benioff vs. Cohn, D.C. Media War

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon roundup of Puck’s latest reporting.

Today, we kick things off with Matt Belloni’s insider analysis of Andrea Riseborough’s Oscars campaign imbroglio, and how the Academy’s investigation might forever change the nomination process.

Then, below the fold: Bill Cohan considers whether Marc Benioff should fear Elliott’s multi-billion dollar position in Salesforce, plus other Wall Street intrigues. Dylan Byers scoops the secret litigious history behind two of D.C.’s most powerful media personages. And on The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly joins Peter Hamby to read the tea leaves on whether the media is gearing up for a reprisal of its breathless 2016-era Trump campaign coverage.

MATTHEW BELLONI

Disqualifying the ‘To Leslie’ actress would invite more scrutiny on all Oscar campaigns, something the board of governors definitely doesn’t want. But that doesn’t mean the rules won’t need to change.

WILLIAM D. COHAN

News and notes about the inside chatter on Wall Street: Can Marc Benioff defang Elliott’s Jesse Cohn? Could Larry Summers be wooed back to Washington? And Elon fundraising fantasies...

DYLAN BYERS

The personal and nearly litigious backstory behind one of the most complicated political relationships in Washington media—the bond between Fred Ryan and Robert Allbritton.

PETER HAMBY & JON KELLY

The media is boarding Trump’s plane again, but is that a good thing—for the media, for Trump, for the country? After all, increased mainstream scrutiny on the former president will tell us if he’s still got his fastball or if, as it seems, his political career is over.