Paramount Global, the parent company of the CBS television network, agreed on Tuesday to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit for $16 million.
The lawsuit stems from a 2024 interview of then Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on CBS’s popular news program 60 Minutes, which Trump alleged was deceptively edited. By making Harris appear more eloquent in the interview than she actually was, the lawsuit claimed, CBS’s editing choices amounted to “news distortion” and election interference.
The $16 million settlement by Paramount will go toward covering Trump’s legal fees and help fund his planned presidential library. No money will be paid to Trump directly or indirectly, according to Paramount.
A spokesperson for the president’s legal team said that Trump delivered “another win for the American people” with this settlement, “as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit.” The spokesperson added, “CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle.”
Trump’s lawsuit, filed last October, initially sought damages of $10 billion from Paramount as well as an injunction against “CBS’s ongoing false, misleading, and deceptive acts.” In a subsequent amended complaint, Trump’s team doubled that demand to $20 billion. In response, CBS denied any wrongdoing and filed two motions in March to dismiss the amended filing.
The legal battle over the Harris interview has coincided with Paramount’s attempt to merge with Skydance Media in a deal valued at $8 billion. Because the merger would require the transfer of local broadcast rights, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent regulatory agency of the executive branch, holds jurisdiction over whether to approve the deal. The FCC has typically ruled to approve such transactions involving broadcast licenses, especially under Republican administrations.
Under the Trump administration, however, the proposed merger between Paramount and Skydance has stalled as regulators have not yet issued a decision on whether to approve it. At the same time, FCC Chairman Brandon Carr, who was appointed by Trump in January to lead the agency, announced a probe of CBS’s flagship television station over the same 60 Minutes Harris interview at issue in Trump’s lawsuits. Claiming that the interview may have violated FCC rules against “news distortion,” the probe requested that the network provide unedited transcripts of the interview. CBS complied with this request.
As the FCC review and Trump’s lawsuit occurred simultaneously, press freedom advocates and Democratic lawmakers voiced alarm that any settlement by Paramount could be construed as a bribe that would clear the way for its merger to be approved.
Freedom of the Press Foundation, a non-profit First Amendment organization, has threatened to sue Paramount on behalf of its shareholders if the company decided to settle Trump’s lawsuit. The foundation also denounced the lawsuit against Paramount as a “clear First Amendment violation and threatens the basic press freedom rights of other news outlets.”
Paramount’s case is not the first time that Trump has sued a media company over its coverage of him, nor is it the first time an outlet has chosen to settle such a lawsuit. In December, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million toward Trump’s presidential library to settle his 2024 lawsuit against the company for defamation over one of its anchors, George Stephanopoulos, inaccurately claiming on air that Trump had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. In reality, Trump had been found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, not raping her. In addition to the payment for his library, ABC agreed to issue an apology to Trump and cover $1 million of his legal fees.
Following the 2024 presidential election, Trump also sued the Des Moines Register and its well-known pollster, Ann Selzer, for publishing a poll days before the election that showed him trailing Kamala Harris by three points in Iowa. After winning the state by more than 13 points, Trump alleged that the Register had committed election interference and defrauded its readers, thereby violating one of Iowa’s consumer protection laws, by publishing a false poll. Originally filed in federal court, Trump filed a motion to drop the lawsuit days ago only to immediately refile it in state court. Selzer’s team argues that her poll was protected by the First Amendment and that the president does not understand the legal concept of “fraud.”
Over the past few months, two CBS executives departed the company in connection to the network’s handling of Trump’s battle against its parent company. In April, the executive producer of 60 Minutes who worked at CBS for 37 years, Bill Owens, exited the show claiming that he had lost the ability to exercise independence over its direction under the second Trump administration. Owens said in a statement, “Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.”
Less than a month later, the president and CEO of CBS News, Wendy McMahon, was forced out of the network after making clear that she opposed Paramount settling Trump’s lawsuit. In contrast, the chair and controlling shareholder of Paramount, Shari Redstone, had by then told the company’s board that she favored pursuing a settlement. The New York Times reported that Redstone wanted to avoid “a protracted legal war with the president that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and jeopardize other divisions that have business before the government,” seemingly in reference to the FCC’s review of Paramount’s planned $8 billion merger.
John R. Puri is a summer editorial intern at National Review. He is an undergraduate from Des Moines, Iowa, studying politics and history at Stanford University.
Reprinted with Permission from The National Review – By John R. Puri
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
It is only fair that the liberal-biased media should be fined for telling lies about anyone. We know that Biden may not have been elected if the media had released the information found on Hunter’s laptop. Lying is all too common today and the media in all forms is guilty and they are suppose to be exposing lies, not hiding them.
I never get tired of winning with this president. It just gets better and better every day. MAGA
It’s funny that Paramount sounded like $16 million dollars was nothing and they made sure that they stated President Trump would not receive any of the money “directly or indirectly.” Well, if it’s helping to pay for his legal expenses and possibly some of it going to his Presidential Library, isn’t that “indirectly” going to President Trump? They just can’t stand losing to Trump about anything. Ever since the media decided to blatantly be an arm of the liberal, Democratic Party, they’ve become more despised than just about any other profession. Well, other than lawyers. Maybe this will lead to the layoff of another overpaid spewer of the agenda in the mainstream media.
They didn’t admit any wrongdoing and didn’t apologize. Not nearly enough of a fine should have been 16 billion dollars! They will do it again. CBS needs to be put out of business 16 billion would probably do it. 16 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the advertising they’ve hauled in on that debate. Get realistic with the penalties. It’s like fining Elon musk $100 for speeding. Now if you fine him a hundred billion dollars that might catch his attention.
Let them drink their own poisonous concoctions
Gotta love it!
Good for President Trump!! It’s about time there is some accountability for fake and dishonest news!
ALL 3 of the “legacy” outlets LIE every day! The law about slandering “famous” people is full of holes and should be rewritten. Jist because someone is “famous” doesn’t excuse media using outright LIES against them! “Dictator, Hitler, etc.”
Hopefully, this will teach other medias to be honest in their reporting and not abuse & insult the intelligence of the American viewers & Global viewers also. That’s why we no longer trust the MSM and get most of our news from Facebook, Blaze, NTD, OANN, You Tube & FOX News to name a few. Thanks to the internet, people are not dumb nor misinformed anymore.
The penalty is not nearly high enough for misleading and influencing American voters.
Happy Independence Day to all!
Watch the Founder videos the White House released.
The MSM have been manipulating the news toward the dems and lies and half truths toward the republicans. Once again Trump won from the fake news. The propaganda machine for the democrats, called MSM, is slowly being shown for what they are, propaganda outlets for the progressive deep state democrats. These mouth pieces are not reporters nor journalists, they are people speaking the words written by the deep state. Braindead bobblehead dolls paid millions of dollars to destroy this country 24/7. President Trump always said so but his winning these lawsuits shows he was right.
A 30-second ad from Bud Light during the next Super Bowl will nicely cover this “fine”, and CBS won’t even blink an eye when the next defamation opportunity presents itself.
Good!
Free Speech is a great right. However, any news media that lies should be fined and jailed. So many people rely on the news media for information concerning world and local issues. Lying is subversive and self-serving. There are many humans that do not have the ability to critically think or have the time or ability to research all the news media with slanted views of the news. Then figure out who is telling the truth. All news media should be held to higher standards. Shame on the liars because that is what they are liars.
When the Enemy Media (aka MSM) decided to swing far Left, they lost all credibility for anyone with a functioning brain cell. Hitting them in the wallet is a good move, but it won’t stop them. Having the FCC pull some broadcast licences might help, but the 1A might prevent that. Ignoring their lies and boycotting their advertisers is the best defense against “fake news”.
To me that sounds like a drop in the bucket. I bet CBS Won’t even feel that. I’d be much happier if somebody went to jail.
Maybe the public should do a class action lawsuit against the MSM for all the lies and misinformation they have told us. JMO
Bravo
It is too bad that Trump didn’t sue them into oblivion. He should have bankrupted them so they could never return. I get so sick of the outright lies and BS spewed by these so-called “journalists,” without any repercussions or accountability. Then they call all this nonsense of First Amendment protection into account…lol The First Amendment doesn’t protect outright lies, nor does it give you carte blanche to libel someone, especially when you know what you’re saying is wrong and nothing but a lie.
Now get Communist News Network [CNN]
He really does take the slings and arrows for us! ????????????????
Every time I see a picture of Kamala Harris I think that she needs to be run through Spin Dry.
Another victory for Trump. It’s more celebratory when the defeated party is someone on the left.
If you listen to the unedited version of Harris’s babbling and then listen to the 60 Minutes edited version; you will understand that the program extracted a small portion of it. The obvious intention was to make her appear more cogent. CBS’s claim that it was edited because of “time constraints” is laughable.
McMahon a typical radical liberal female. Fight a losing battle to the very end, no matter how much it costs
The settlement is 30 million not 16 million. What a misleading propaganda article put out..
Look at who’s defending Paramount – the Freedom of the Press Foundation. I guess the only freedom they want is the freedom from responsibility and accountability to manipulate, distort and lie. Keep an eye on them.
Great! It’s about time the crooked dem controlled media got spanked!
MSM is our biggest enemy
When the networks run a not made for TV movie, they always have a disclaimer stating that “This film has been edited for content and fit the allotted time.” or something to that effect.
Lame Stream Media’s disclaimer should read, “This news broadcast has been edited for content to fit with our narrative. What is ‘reported’ in this broadcast may have very little truth to it.”
Paramount and 60 Minutes got off dirt cheap…. This is a wrist slap…
Having watched Harris for several years now, I believe, her entire past should be closely scrutinized whether she made her achievements on her own or were they by nefarious dealings given to her. Ms. Harris cannot adequately articulate nor intellectually comprehend that set before her. She’s repeatedly is fully dependent upon others. If asked point blank Ms. Harris is dumbfounded as to what to say or do. One hundred percent plus incompetent! To date, the worst Vice President ever! She should never be given any position of Public Service nor any Leadership Authority whatsoever!
Ya gotta love The Donald!
The truth about the Demonrat Party and the Fake Stream Media is starting to surface! I can’t wait for America to see the TRUTH, if the media ever puts it out there!
I wish Wendy McMahon wouldn’t got canned She would have took the whole company down with her pigheadedness