Paramount settles lawsuit filed by Trump over CBS interview with Kamala Harris

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 6:14 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

CBS genitor institution Paramount connected Wednesday settled a suit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump implicit an interrogation broadcast successful October, the latest concession by a media institution to a president who has targeted outlets implicit what helium describes arsenic mendacious oregon misleading coverage.

Paramount said it would wage $16 cardinal US to settee the suit, with the wealth allocated to Trump's aboriginal statesmanlike library and not paid to Trump "directly oregon indirectly."

"The colony does not see a connection of apology oregon regret," a institution connection added.

Trump filed a $10-billion US suit against CBS successful October, alleging the web deceptively edited an interrogation that aired connected 60 Minutes with then-vice president and statesmanlike campaigner Kamala Harris to "tip the scales successful favour of the Democratic Party" in the election. In an amended ailment filed successful February, Trump bumped his assertion for damages to $20 billion.

Trump, who did not hold to beryllium interviewed by 60 Minutes during the campaign, protested editing wherever Harris is seen giving 2 antithetic answers to a question astir the Israel-Hamas warfare by the show's Bill Whitaker successful abstracted clips aired connected 60 Minutes and Face the Nation earlier successful the day.

CBS said each reply came wrong Harris's lengthy answer to Whitaker, but was edited to beryllium much succinct.

Paramount said it besides agreed that 60 Minutes would merchandise transcripts of interviews with aboriginal U.S. statesmanlike candidates aft they aired, taxable to redactions arsenic required for ineligible oregon nationalist information concerns.

The suit was filed successful national tribunal successful Texas. Trump alleged CBS's editing of the interrogation violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, which makes it amerciable to usage false, misleading oregon deceptive acts successful commerce.

At its yearly shareholders gathering connected Wednesday, Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks told investors the corp chose to settee the suit to debar the "somewhat unpredictable cost" of a prolonged ineligible battle, and said the colony "allows companies to absorption connected their halfway objectives alternatively than being mired successful uncertainty and distraction."

Cheeks emphasized that the colony did not see a connection of apology oregon regret.

2 high-profile CBS departures 

Media advocacy groups said Trump's novel usage of specified laws against quality outlets could beryllium a mode of circumventing ineligible protections for the press, which tin lone beryllium held liable for defamation against nationalist figures if they accidental thing they knew oregon should person known was false.

CBS antecedently said the suit was "completely without merit" and had asked a justice to disregard the case.

Bill Owens, lone the 3rd enforcement shaper successful the 57-year past of 60 Minutes, resigned successful April, saying helium nary longer felt helium had the independency to tally the programme arsenic helium had successful the past.

CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon near the web successful May, saying in an email to unit that "it's go wide that the institution and I bash not hold connected the way forward. It's clip to determination connected and for this enactment to determination guardant with caller leadership." Like Owens, McMahon had made wide she opposed settling with Trump,

The colony comes arsenic Paramount prepares for an $8.4-billion US merger with Skydance Media, which volition necessitate support from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The Writers Guild of America slammed the colony arsenic "a transparent effort to curry favours with an medication successful the hopes it volition let Paramount Global and Skydance Media merger to beryllium cleared for approval." The guild's eastbound section represents respective writers astatine CBS News properties, including 60 Minutes.

On the run way past year, Trump threatened to revoke CBS's broadcasting licence if elected.

The Paramount settlement follows a determination by Walt Disney-owned ABC News to settee a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump. As portion of that settlement, made nationalist connected Dec. 14, the web donated $15 cardinal US to Trump's statesmanlike room and publically apologized for comments by anchor George Stephanopoulos, who inaccurately said Trump had been recovered liable for rape.

It besides follows a 2nd settlement, by Facebook and Instagram genitor institution Meta Platforms, which connected Jan. 29 said it had agreed to wage astir $25 cardinal US to settee a suit by Trump implicit the company's suspension of his accounts aft the Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught astatine the U.S. Capitol.

Trump has vowed to prosecute much claims against the media.

On Dec. 17, helium filed a suit against the Des Moines Register paper and its erstwhile apical pollster implicit its canvass published connected Nov. 2 that showed Harris starring Trump by 3 percent points successful Iowa. The suit seeks unspecified damages and an bid barring the Des Moines Register from engaging successful "ongoing deceptive and misleading acts and practices" related to polling.

A Des Moines Register typical said the enactment stands by its reporting and that the suit was without merit.