Critics characterized the payment as a bribe in exchange for federal approval of Paramount's pending merger with Skydance.
A billboard displayed in New York City on June 25, 2025 urges Paramount Global not to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump.
(Photo: Ekō/CC BY 4.0)
Jake Johnson
Jul 02, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
The parent company of CBS News, Paramount Global, announced Tuesday that it has agreed to pay U.S. President Donald Trump $16 million to settle what legal experts called an entirely meritless lawsuit over the media organization's handling of a pre-election "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris.
Under the reported terms of the settlement, the money will go toward Trump's legal fees and his future presidential library. Paramount said the settlement deal does not include a formal apology, but the company agreed to release written transcripts of future "60 Minutes" interviews with presidential candidates.
Critics responded with outrage to news of the settlement, which one observer characterized as "spineless capitulation to extortion." Some posted screenshots to social media showing they canceled their Paramount+ subscriptions in response.
As Paramount engaged in talks with Trump's legal team over the lawsuit in recent weeks, press freedom advocates and members of Congress implored the organization not to settle, warning that caving to the president would reward and embolden his attacks on media outlets he views as his political enemies.
"If you settle cases, you're going to send a message to your news team to not push the envelope for fear of people being sued," media attorney Edward Klaris toldThe Washington Post, "and you're going to court more cases against your company because they might think that if they sue you they're going to collect."
"A line is being drawn between the owners of American news media who are willing to stand up for press freedom and those who capitulate to the demands of the president."
Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, supported a settlement with Trump in the hope that it would "clear the way" for federal approval of the company's merger with the entertainment company Skydance, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited sources familiar with the internal discussions. Bloombergreported that Redstone could reap $180 million in "severance and other benefits on top of hundreds of millions from the sale of her stock" if the merger goes through.
In May, the Freedom of the Press Foundation—a Paramount shareholder—cautioned that a settlement with Trump "could amount to a bribe" to the Trump administration in exchange for approval of the merger. The advocacy group said it would sue Paramount if the company caved to the president, arguing that "a settlement of Trump's meritless lawsuit may well be a thinly veiled effort to launder bribes through the court system."
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) similarly warned Paramount that a settlement with Trump could run afoul of federal anti-bribery laws.
"Paramount appears to be attempting to appease the administration in order to secure merger approval," the senators wrote in a May 19 letter to Redstone.
Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA, said in a statement Wednesday that the settlement was "a shameful decision by Paramount."
"Shari Redstone and Paramount's board should have stood by CBS journalists and the integrity of press freedom," said Weimers. "Instead, they chose to reward Donald Trump for his petty legal assault against both. A line is being drawn between the owners of American news media who are willing to stand up for press freedom and those who capitulate to the demands of the president."
"Paramount's leaders chose to be on the wrong side of that dividing line, but they'd be mistaken to believe appeasing Trump today will stop his attacks in the future," Weimers added. "News media owners are much better off standing strong than acquiescing."
This story has been updated to include a statement from Reporters Without Borders USA.
US senator urges bribery probe over Trump-Paramount settlement
By AFP
July 2, 2025
US Senator Elizabeth Warren was among three senators who initially raised bribery concerns with Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone
By AFP
July 2, 2025
US Senator Elizabeth Warren was among three senators who initially raised bribery concerns with Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone
- Copyright AFP/File SAUL LOEB
Frankie TAGGART
A US senator renewed calls Wednesday for a bribery probe into Paramount following its reported $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a lawsuit the entertainment giant initially described as meritless.
The president had sued the CBS News parent company for $20 billion, claiming its “60 Minutes” program had deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival Kamala Harris in her favor.
The suit is described by Trump’s critics as part of a broader assault on press freedom that has seen him bar the Associated Press from the Oval Office and sue other media organizations over their coverage.
Paramount nevertheless entered into mediation in a bid to placate Trump, as it seeks to close its $8 billion merger with the entertainment company Skydance, which needs federal government approval.
“With Paramount folding to Donald Trump at the same time the company needs his administration’s approval for its billion-dollar merger, this could be bribery in plain sight,” said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat.
“Paramount has refused to provide answers to a congressional inquiry, so I’m calling for a full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken.”
Warren was among three senators who wrote to Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone in May with bribery concerns over the company’s efforts to settle the suit, and calling for a congressional probe.
Republicans control both chambers of Congress, limiting the power of Democrats to investigate or compel answers from witnesses.
The senators’ letter came after CBS News head Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens announced they were quitting over Paramount’s handling of the showdown with Trump.
– ‘Paramount’s surrender’ –
The company — which didn’t immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment — initially called the suit “completely without merit” and had sought to have it dismissed.
“The Trump administration’s level of sheer corruption is appalling and Paramount should be ashamed of putting its profits over independent journalism,” Warren added.
Trump accuses CBS of airing two different snippets from the same answer that Harris, then vice president, gave about Israel, to help her in her election campaign.
The Republican billionaire sued last October, alleging that the interview violated a Texas consumer protection law.
Legal experts have argued that the lawsuit would have been an easy victory in court for CBS, which made public an unedited transcript of the Harris interview.
And media watchers have pointed out that Trump routinely takes part in interviews that are edited for all manner of reasons, often in his favor.
The $16 million will go toward Trump’s future presidential library rather than to him personally, according to a Paramount statement published by the Los Angeles Times Tuesday.
ABC News, owned by Disney, agreed to donate a similar amount to the library in its own settlement with Trump late last year.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called the settlement “a sad day for press freedom.”
“This was a frivolous lawsuit and the payment being described as a ‘settlement’ bears no relation to Paramount’s actual legal exposure in the case, which was negligible,” he said in a statement.
“Paramount should have fought this extortionate lawsuit in court, and it would have prevailed. Now Trump’s presidential library will be a permanent monument to Paramount’s surrender, a continual reminder of its failure to defend freedoms that are essential to our democracy.”
Frankie TAGGART
A US senator renewed calls Wednesday for a bribery probe into Paramount following its reported $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump over a lawsuit the entertainment giant initially described as meritless.
The president had sued the CBS News parent company for $20 billion, claiming its “60 Minutes” program had deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival Kamala Harris in her favor.
The suit is described by Trump’s critics as part of a broader assault on press freedom that has seen him bar the Associated Press from the Oval Office and sue other media organizations over their coverage.
Paramount nevertheless entered into mediation in a bid to placate Trump, as it seeks to close its $8 billion merger with the entertainment company Skydance, which needs federal government approval.
“With Paramount folding to Donald Trump at the same time the company needs his administration’s approval for its billion-dollar merger, this could be bribery in plain sight,” said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat.
“Paramount has refused to provide answers to a congressional inquiry, so I’m calling for a full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken.”
Warren was among three senators who wrote to Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone in May with bribery concerns over the company’s efforts to settle the suit, and calling for a congressional probe.
Republicans control both chambers of Congress, limiting the power of Democrats to investigate or compel answers from witnesses.
The senators’ letter came after CBS News head Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens announced they were quitting over Paramount’s handling of the showdown with Trump.
– ‘Paramount’s surrender’ –
The company — which didn’t immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment — initially called the suit “completely without merit” and had sought to have it dismissed.
“The Trump administration’s level of sheer corruption is appalling and Paramount should be ashamed of putting its profits over independent journalism,” Warren added.
Trump accuses CBS of airing two different snippets from the same answer that Harris, then vice president, gave about Israel, to help her in her election campaign.
The Republican billionaire sued last October, alleging that the interview violated a Texas consumer protection law.
Legal experts have argued that the lawsuit would have been an easy victory in court for CBS, which made public an unedited transcript of the Harris interview.
And media watchers have pointed out that Trump routinely takes part in interviews that are edited for all manner of reasons, often in his favor.
The $16 million will go toward Trump’s future presidential library rather than to him personally, according to a Paramount statement published by the Los Angeles Times Tuesday.
ABC News, owned by Disney, agreed to donate a similar amount to the library in its own settlement with Trump late last year.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called the settlement “a sad day for press freedom.”
“This was a frivolous lawsuit and the payment being described as a ‘settlement’ bears no relation to Paramount’s actual legal exposure in the case, which was negligible,” he said in a statement.
“Paramount should have fought this extortionate lawsuit in court, and it would have prevailed. Now Trump’s presidential library will be a permanent monument to Paramount’s surrender, a continual reminder of its failure to defend freedoms that are essential to our democracy.”
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