Paramount, the parent company of CBS, has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by US President Donald Trump over an edited “60 Minutes” interview aired last October. The funds will be directed to Trump’s future presidential library rather than being paid to him directly. The settlement notably includes no statement of apology or regret.
Trump initially sued CBS for $10 billion, later raising the claim to $20 billion, alleging that the interview with then-vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to benefit the Democratic Party. According to the lawsuit, CBS broadcast two versions of Harris’s answers on the Israel-Hamas conflict, which Trump argued misled viewers.
CBS had previously dismissed the lawsuit as baseless and requested its dismissal. The case moved to mediation in April and concluded amid Paramount’s ongoing $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media, which still awaits regulatory approval.
Legal experts and media watchdogs have raised concerns about Trump’s strategy of applying consumer protection laws, like Texas’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, against news organizations. Such moves could test the boundaries of existing press protections that typically shield outlets from defamation suits involving public figures unless statements are knowingly false.
This settlement follows other high-profile agreements: Disney-owned ABC News previously settled a defamation suit by paying $15 million to Trump’s presidential library and issuing a public apology. Meta Platforms also paid about $25 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit over suspending his social media accounts after the January 6 Capitol attack.
Trump has pledged to continue challenging media outlets, including ongoing legal action against the Des Moines Register over its polling, which he claims was deceptive.
