“Paramount just paid a bribe”: Senator demands investigation after $16 million settlement with Trump

Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, will pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump, who sued the company for alleged election interference following an interview it aired on “60 Minutes” with former Vice President Kamala Harris in October.

“The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret,” according to a statement from Paramount Global.  “The Company has agreed that in the future, 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.”

Paramount’s decision to settle has already drawn ire from press organizations.

Writer’s Guild of America East criticized “bosses at Paramount Global” for a lack of “courage,” in a post on X, adding that Paramount’s “capitulation threatens journalists’ ability to do their job reporting on powerful public figures.”

The Freedom of the Press Foundation called the move “spineless” and the lawsuit “an insult to the First Amendment,” in a statement on X.”It’s a dark day for press freedom,” the post concluded.

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The lawsuit alleged that the editing of the 2024 interview on “60 Minutes” was “partisan” and created “unlawful acts of election and voter interference.” It also accused CBS of “distortion,” adding that the edited interview “damaged” Trump’s reelection efforts, and asked for $10 billion in damages.

CBS denied the claims and asked for dismissal, saying its filing in the conservative North Texas had no “personal jurisdiction” over the company. Paramount Global changed course and began settlement talks in January. The move came at a time when Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance Media needed approval from Trump’s FCC.

Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was direct in his criticism, writing in a post to Bluesky: “Paramount just paid a bribe for merger approval.” he called for “state prosecutors” to “make the corporate execs who sold out our democracy answer in court, today.”