Trump's 60 Minutes Lawsuit Criticized by CNN's Jake Tapper as 'Nonsense', Describes Paramount's Settlement as Show of Loyalty to the President
Jake Tapper, the acclaimed journalist and CNN anchor, recently denounced President Trump's lawsuit against CBS News over a "60 Minutes" segment during an interview at Variety & Rolling Stone's Truth Seekers Summit in New York.
Tapper alleged that Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, settled the lawsuit with Trump primarily to secure regulatory approval for its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Trump had sued, alleging "deceptive editing" of a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, seeking $10 billion in damages.
Despite widespread legal skepticism about the suit’s merits, Paramount agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle. This settlement helped remove a major obstacle for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, which approved the merger shortly thereafter. The timing suggests the settlement was part of a broader political and business strategy to ease merger approval, which some have labeled an extortion-like scenario where lawsuits and FCC leverage influenced media company compliance and policies.
Tapper pointed out that the lawsuit was not about justice or correcting the record, but rather about using lawsuits to bankrupt media organizations. He also mentioned the existence of a more established right-wing media ecosystem, which he believes is exacerbating divisions in the country.
In the same interview, Tapper discussed other controversial issues involving Trump. He called out a June 2024 interview Trump gave on Fox News, where he was asked about declassifying the government’s Epstein files, stating that the Fox News interview's answer about the Epstein files was edited out.
Tapper also referred to a threat by Trump to revoke Rosy O'Donnell's U.S. citizenship as an example of a social media rant that might be used to distract from other issues.
The settlement was seen less as a legal resolution on its merits and more as a pragmatic move by Paramount to secure crucial regulatory consent amid a politically charged environment. Tapper believes CBS News and Paramount would have won the lawsuit against Trump, had it gone to trial.
At the Truth Seekers Summit, Tapper was presented with the 2025 Variety & Rolling Stone Truth Seeker Award by his colleague Abby Phillip. In his acceptance speech, Tapper expressed that he feels honored, but also noted that he is at a stage of his life where he is receiving awards on his way out the door.
Phillip, in her introductory remarks, called Tapper a "modern-day renaissance man" and praised his book "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again."
[1] New York Times Article on the Settlement [2] Politico Article on the Settlement [3] CNN Article on the Settlement [4] Washington Post Article on the Settlement [5] Variety Article on the Settlement
The settlement between Paramount and President Trump over the "60 Minutes" segment may have been driven not only by legal considerations, but also by politics and policy-and-legislation, as it helped secure regulatory approval for Paramount's merger with Skydance Media. This controversial move has raised concerns about the influence of celebrities and entertainment on policy-and-legislation, and the potential for extortion-like scenarios in media companies.
The fallout from the Trump-CBS News lawsuit has sparked debates in the general-news sphere, with Jake Tapper discussing its implications in various articles across numerous outlets, including the New York Times, Politico, CNN, Washington Post, and Variety.
