Paramount pays Trump $16 million in settlement for '60 Minutes' lawsuit, no apology given
Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, has reached a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump to resolve a lawsuit he filed over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. The settlement, which does not include any apology or admission of wrongdoing, aims to clear regulatory hurdles and ease the approval process for Paramount's proposed merger with Skydance Media.
The lawsuit, which was seen as an act of extortion by some within CBS, caused internal divisions within Paramount and sparked criticism from First Amendment experts. Trump claimed that the edits of the interview constituted election interference and called it "the biggest scandal in broadcast history." He initially demanded $10 billion in damages, later increasing the amount to $20 billion.
The settlement payment will be allocated to Trump's future presidential library, a move that has been criticised by press advocacy groups as an insult to the First Amendment and to the journalists and viewers of "60 Minutes." The controversy over the edited interview also put pressure on Paramount, particularly for its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, who stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars through the Skydance deal.
The FCC, under a Trump-appointed chairman, had opened an inquiry into whether the edits of the interview constituted news distortion, slowing the review process of the Skydance-Paramount merger. Paramount viewed the legal dispute and the FCC's review as separate matters but understood that resolving the lawsuit was crucial to move forward with the merger, which faced an October deadline to finalize the deal.
The settlement has been criticised by some as an attempt by Paramount to protect its business interests and news division's operational future amid intense political and regulatory pressures. However, legal experts maintained that CBS was on solid ground to fight and win the case in court.
The lawsuit revolved around a contested transcript of a question and answer in a lengthy "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. One clip aired on "Face the Nation" and another clip aired on "60 Minutes," causing confusion among the viewing public. Trump's CBS lawsuit was part of his larger and ongoing effort to attack major media organizations he deemed unfavorable to him.
In the interview, Harris was asked about the Biden administration's relationship with Israel amid the war in Gaza. CBS News aired two different soundbites from Harris in response to the question, which led to the lawsuit. The FCC later pressured CBS to release the tapes and transcript of the interview, which confirmed normal editing, not any nefarious activity as Trump alleged.
As the merger between Paramount and Skydance Media moves forward, the settlement marks a significant step in resolving the legal dispute and paving the way for regulatory approval. The settlement also underscores the complex relationship between politics, media, and business in the modern era.
The settlement, amounting to $16 million, has been allocated to Trump's future presidential library, a move that has fueled criticism from press advocacy groups, questioning the independence of journalism and the First Amendment rights. This controversy, born from an edited "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, has underscored the complex relationship between politics, entertainment, and general-news, highlighting the intense regulatory and political pressures on media corporations.
