On July 1, Paramount Global, which is the parent company of CBS News, announced that it will settle Trump’s lawsuit for $16 million.
The $16 million will be awarded to Trump’s future presidential library and will cover his legal fees.
Trump initiated the lawsuit in October 2024 based on the false notion that CBS was an advertiser that misled the public by “airing two different portions of [Kamala] Harris’ response to a question about the Middle East, one in an early excerpt on ‘Face the Nation’ and the other on the full broadcast of ’60 Minutes.’ Trump did not have standing in this lawsuit, and filed it in Amarillo, Texas, despite CBS not being headquartered there, or the interview having occurred there. He did so because the sole judge in that area is a Trump appointee. Furthermore, CBS is not an advertiser, and therefore cannot be sued on that basis.
In February 2025, Trump doubled his demand from an initial $10 billion in damages. It was also this month in which Representative Ronny Jackson joined Trump as a co-plaintiff despite not having standing in the case at all.
In April, Trump blatantly politicized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by requesting Chair Brendan Carr to “impose the maximum fines and punishment” on Truth Social. Carr gave into Trump’s demand, with the FCC filing a complaint that CBS took part in news distortion.
CBS has been fully transparent:
Back in February, CBS complied with an FCC inquiry to hand over the transcript and videos from the Harris interview, simultaneously releasing those files to the public.
CBS News
The likely reason Paramount capitulated was its merger with Skydance Media, which needs to be approved by the FCC. The former CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures, Wendy McMahon, as well as “60 Minutes” executive producer, Bill Owens, were staunchly resisting Trump’s censorship. Shari Redstone, the controlling owner of Paramount, decided that her bottom line, profit, took priority over a spirited defense of the First Amendment’s promise of press freedom.
Trump has directly involved himself in the merger, having invited Skydance Media CEO David Ellison to the White House.
Paramount has now joined the ranks of companies such as ABC, which has also caved in to laughable Trump lawsuits.
