As CBS-owner Paramount Global enters mediation this week to resolve President Trump’s $20-billion “60 Minutes” lawsuit, one question looms: How much should the company pay to settle a dispute that 1st Amendment experts have deemed frivolous?
Paramount’s board during an April 18 meeting agreed on parameters for a possible settlement with Trump, according to two people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to comment.
Mediation sessions begin Wednesday, multiple sources have said, and the company is eager to put the “60 Minutes” controversy behind so that it can move forward with its sale to David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
The New York Times first reported Paramount’s board directors had agreed on settlement terms.
The knowledgeable people said board members acted to provide clear guidance to lawyers who will be representing them during the mediation process. A Paramount representative declined to comment.
Trump filed the lawsuit in Texas last October, alleging CBS deceptively edited a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in an effort to prop up her election chances.
Early this year, the president doubled the amount of damages he was seeking to $20 billion. His updated lawsuit attempted to steer the case away from 1st Amendment issues and instead claim “60 Minutes” was a fraudulent product that harmed viewers in Texas.
Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has pushed for a settlement to facilitate Paramount’s sale to the family headed by billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison. Redstone’s apparent willingness to appease Trump has sparked sharp protests within the company.
Last week, Bill Owens, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” resigned, citing additional corporate pressure over coverage.
On Sunday, veteran CBS newsman Scott Pelley told “60 Minutes” viewers about Owens’ resignation. Pelley disclosed the show had been facing increased corporate oversight because of Paramount’s desire to win the Trump administration’s approval of the Skydance deal.
The Federal Communications Commission must approve the transfer of CBS television station licenses to the Ellison family.
“None of our stories has been blocked,” Pelley told viewers at the end of the broadcast. “But Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires.”
Redstone, who serves as Paramount’s chairwoman, recused herself from discussions about the settlement, the sources said. She has refrained from voting on certain Paramount matters related to the company’s sale due to a conflict of interest. Her family is expecting $1.75 billion as its part of the proceeds from the Skydance sale.
Paramount, however, could face legal blowback if it shells out a huge amount to mollify Trump.
Paramount’s lawyers have pushed back against Trump’s arguments and CBS journalists have maintained they did not distort the Harris interview. The raw footage shows she was quoted accurately, although CBS had edited her response by using her most cogent sentence.
CBS has said the edits were made to pare the then-vice president’s interview to a broadcast length.
Board members are cognizant that a huge settlement could be viewed as something of a payoff to the president to move the Skydance merger over the finish line, knowledgeable sources have said.
Amid the controversy, Trump’s dismay with CBS and “60 Minutes” has continued.
He grew angry over two segments that aired in April, stories on the war in Ukraine and Trump’s desire to annex Greenland. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier this month that he wanted Brendan Carr, his appointee to head the FCC, to “ impose the maximum fines and punishment” on CBS.
Separately, after a long pause, the FCC reached out to Skydance in the last week to begin the merger review process.
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