President Donald Trump aired his furious grievances against 60 Minutes and CBS News on Wednesday, claiming he had a “WINNER” of a case in his $20 billion lawsuit over the show’s interview with Kamala Harris.
In a lengthy, rambling Truth Social screed, the president claimed once again that the show “cheated and defrauded the American People” after it aired a different part of Harris’ answer to a question over the war in Gaza. He also falsely claimed that 60 Minutes, CBS, and parent company Paramount Global admitted to the “crime” of airing a different portion of the answer to the question.
“In other words, 60 Minutes perpetrated a Giant FRAUD against the American People, the Federal Elections Commission, and the Federal Communications System,” the president wrote.
CBS did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
The post came as lawyers for Trump and Paramount were set to begin mediation on Wednesday in Trump’s $20 billion defamation lawsuit, according to The New York Times, a process Paramount hopes will clear the way for its upcoming merger with David Ellison’s Skydance. Paramount’s board approved financial terms for a potential settlement during an April 18 meeting, according to the Times.
Trump accused the show of “news distortion” in October after 60 Minutes previewed Harris’ interview with correspondent Bill Whitaker during Face the Nation with a clip of Harris’ winding answer on the U.S.’ relationship with Israel. But the next day, during a special Monday edition of 60 Minutes that Trump refused to participate in, a more streamlined version of Harris’ answer aired.
Trump later filed a $10 billion federal lawsuit in Texas, amending it to $20 billion earlier this year. Federal Communications Chairman and Trump acolyte Brendan Carr has also opened an investigation into CBS over the episode and has linked the case with the FCC’s review of the Paramount-Skydance merger.
Trump has claimed his lawsuit and the merger are not related.
CBS has denied Trump’s claims, saying it acted within journalistic guidelines, and has continued to fight the lawsuit in court. In response to the FCC’s investigation, the network released the unedited interview with Harris earlier this year that featured both portions of Harris’ Israel answer.
Paramount’s chairwoman and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has aggressively pursued a settlement in order to secure the deal, according to the Times, one that will grant her a $2.4 billion payout for her stake in National Amusements, which controls Paramount and its assets. She has also demanded a review of 60 Minutes segments critical of Trump.
The desire for a settlement has has put her at odds with 60 Minutes’ staff and its executive producer Bill Owens, who said he would not apologize as part of a settlement. Owens resigned last week after said it became apparent that, as he put it, “I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ’60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.”
The Times also caught a stray attack after Trump complained that the paper’s inclusion of legal experts who called the lawsuit “baseless” made it “liable for tortious interference.” He suggested his lawyers are “intently studying” whether to sue the paper.
“Nothing like this, the illegal creation of an answer for a Presidential Candidate, has ever been done before, they have to pay a price for it, and the Times should also be on the hook for their likely unlawful behavior,” he wrote.
A Times spokesperson said Trump’s post “follows a long list of legal threats aimed at discouraging or penalizing independent reporting about the administration.”
“The New York Times will not be deterred by the administration’s intimidation tactics,” the spokesperson wrote. “We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
The attack comes as Trump and his administration have waged and won wars against various media outlets, ranging from ABC’s $16 million settlement over a George Stephanopoulos interview to the FCC’s various investigations into Trump enemies such as ABC and NBC.
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