New York, NY – In a high-profile legal resolution, Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over a 2024 “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival in the presidential election. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Texas, accused CBS of deceptively editing the interview to favor Harris, sparking a firestorm of controversy over media practices and First Amendment rights. Announced late on July 1, 2025, the settlement marks a significant moment in the ongoing clash between Trump and major news outlets, raising questions about the intersection of journalism, politics, and corporate interests.
A Costly Settlement with No Apology
The settlement, brokered through mediation, allocates the $16 million to cover plaintiffs’ legal fees and costs, with the remainder designated for Trump’s future presidential library, according to Paramount’s statement. Notably, neither President Trump nor his co-plaintiff, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), will receive direct payments. Jackson, Trump’s former physician, was added to the lawsuit in February 2025, claiming he, like Trump, was misled as a “consumer of news” by the edited interview.
Trump’s legal team hailed the settlement as a victory, with a spokesperson stating, “President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit.” The lawsuit, which initially sought $10 billion and later escalated to $20 billion in damages, alleged that CBS violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by airing two different versions of Harris’s response to a question about U.S.-Israel relations, one on “Face the Nation” and another on “60 Minutes.” Trump’s team claimed the edits made Harris appear more coherent, constituting “election interference.”
Paramount, however, stood firm that the settlement includes “no statement of apology or regret,” a point of contention given earlier reports that Trump’s lawyers sought an apology. In a concession to transparency, Paramount agreed that “60 Minutes” will release transcripts of future interviews with U.S. presidential candidates after airing, subject to redactions for legal or national security reasons.
The Lawsuit’s Origins and Controversy
Filed in October 2024, just days before the presidential election, the lawsuit centered on a “60 Minutes” interview conducted by correspondent Bill Whitaker with Harris. The controversy arose when CBS aired different segments of Harris’s response to a question about Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on “Face the Nation” and the subsequent “60 Minutes” broadcast. Trump alleged the edits were designed to bolster Harris’s image and undermine his campaign, a claim CBS dismissed as “completely without merit.” The network maintained that the edits were standard journalistic practice due to time constraints, with no intent to deceive.
Legal experts widely criticized the lawsuit as baseless, arguing that the First Amendment protects editorial decisions and that the Texas consumer protection law was misapplied to a news broadcast. Despite these arguments, Paramount opted for settlement, a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from press freedom advocates and CBS journalists. The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a Paramount shareholder, had threatened to sue the company if it settled, calling the lawsuit “beyond frivolous” and warning that the payment resembles a “payoff” to secure regulatory favor.
Tensions at CBS and the Skydance Merger
The settlement comes amid internal turmoil at CBS News, exacerbated by Paramount’s efforts to finalize an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), now led by Trump-appointed chairman Brendan Carr. The FCC’s review of the merger, coupled with its reopened investigation into the Harris interview for “news distortion,” has fueled speculation that Paramount’s decision to settle was driven by corporate interests rather than legal merit.
The controversy has taken a toll on CBS News. In April 2025, “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens resigned, citing a loss of journalistic independence due to corporate oversight. Weeks later, CBS News and Stations CEO Wendy McMahon also stepped down, stating in a memo that she and Paramount disagreed on the news division’s future. Prominent “60 Minutes” correspondents, including Lesley Stahl and Scott Pelley, expressed dismay, with Pelley publicly warning that a settlement would damage CBS’s reputation.
A Broader Pattern of Media Settlements
The Paramount settlement follows similar resolutions by other media giants. In December 2024, Disney-owned ABC News paid $15 million to Trump’s presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos’s inaccurate statements. In January 2025, Meta settled a lawsuit over Trump’s social media account suspensions for approximately $25 million. These settlements reflect a growing trend of media companies opting to avoid prolonged legal battles with Trump, particularly given his administration’s regulatory influence.
On X, reactions to the settlement were polarized. Some users celebrated it as a victory against “fake news,” with one post stating, “Paramount got caught deceptively editing Kamala’s interview and now they’re paying the price.” Others decried it as a blow to press freedom, with one user calling it “a chilling precedent for journalism.”
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Implications for Press Freedom and Beyond
The settlement has sparked alarm among press freedom advocates, who argue it sets a dangerous precedent for media independence. Critics, including Democratic senators, have suggested that Paramount’s decision may be linked to securing FCC approval for the Skydance merger, a claim the company denies, insisting the lawsuit is “completely separate” from the merger process.
The settlement paints the challenges facing news organizations in an era of heightened political pressure. The agreement may ease corporate tensions but risks eroding CBS News’s storied legacy, home to journalistic giants like Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. With the House vote on Trump’s budget looming, the intersection of media, politics, and power remains a critical issue for 2025.
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