Film production giant Paramount, the owner of CBS News, has agreed to pay $16 million in settlement to President Donald Trump in his lawsuit over editing an interview with former Vice-President Kamala Harris on its ‘60 Minutes’ programme.
As part of his fight back against mainstream media following his reelection in 2024, Mr Trump had filed a lawsuit against CBS News, accusing the network of editing out some responses from Ms Harris to favour the former lawmaker in the 2024 presidential election, which the American leader alleged created an unfair competition.
Despite many legal experts arguing that the lawsuit lacked merits, Paramount announced on Tuesday that it has reached a settlement with Mr Trump, as opposed to pursuing the case in trial, which could create a potential hurdle to completing a multibillion-dollar sale of the company to the Hollywood studio Skydance.
The sale that would require the Trump administration’s approval before it can be completed.
According to the New York Times, the payment includes Mr Trump’s legal fees and costs, noting that the $16 million, minus the legal fees, will be paid to the politician’s future presidential library.
The details of the settlement were agreed after both parties worked through the weekend ahead of a court deadline to commence discovery.
Paramount also agreed to release written transcripts of future ‘60 Minutes’ interviews with presidential candidates. However, the settlement did not include an apology to Mr Trump.
This is the latest win for Mr Trump in his legal battle against American media corporations after ABC News, in December last year, agreed to pay him over $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air assertion that he had been found civilly liable for raping writer Jean Carroll.
