Paramount Eyeing Settlement With Trump Over CBS News Lawsuit

Settling the case is reportedly a top priority for Paramount head, Shari Redstone, as she seeks to complete a long-anticipated sale to Skydance Media. That company is run by David Ellison, whose father, Larry Ellison, backed Trump during his re-election campaign.

Contacted by TVNewser, CBS News and Paramount declined to comment.

Trump’s lawsuit stems from an October interview with former Vice President—and then Democratic presidential candidate—Kamala Harris on CBS News’ flagship newsmagazine, 60 Minutes. Speaking with Bill Whitaker about the situation in the Middle East, Harris provided an extensive answer that the network aired different portions of on 60 Minutes and its Sunday morning show, Face the Nation.

After the programs aired, Trump and his campaign team accused CBS News of “deceitful” editing. “To paper over Kamala’s ‘word salad’ weakness, CBS used its national platform on 60 Minutes to cross the line from the exercise of judgment in reporting to deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news,” the suit stated.

In a strongly-worded response, 60 Minutes described Trump’s charge as “false” and outlined how the editing decisions followed standard network practices.

“When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment,” the statement noted.

According to The New York Times, CBS lawyers considered Trump’s case to be on tenuous legal ground. If a settlement is reached, it could have significant repercussions within a news division that over the past year has seen the departure of president Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, the announcement of a new leadership team, and a closely-watched relaunch of the CBS Evening News minus former anchor Norah O’Donnell.

In December, ABC News faced its own wave of controversy after paying $15 million to settle a defamation suit with Trump involving its star anchor, George Stephanopoulos. The Good Morning America co-host signed a new contract with the network despite speculation that he might exit.

During his campaign and since returning to the White House, Trump and his officials have demonstrated that they plan to be aggressive in their dealings with the media.

“We know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, about his family and we will not accept that,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in her first briefing earlier this week. “We will call you out when we feel that your reporting is wrong or there is misinformation about this White House.”