Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump against its CBS News division.
The agreement is seen as a step forward in helping Paramount move ahead with its planned multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media.
According to a statement shared with CNN, Paramount said the payment covers Trump’s legal costs and will go toward funding his future presidential library, not into his account. Trump had originally asked for as much as $20 billion in damages, claiming that CBS News edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris in a misleading way during the election season.
Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was willing to drop the lawsuit if he received at least $25 million and a public apology. Paramount, however, did not issue any apology in the final deal. Instead, the company agreed to release full transcripts of 60 Minutes interviews with all major presidential candidates moving forward.
A Trump spokesperson told The New York Times that the settlement was “a win for the American people,” and said the case shows Trump is holding the media accountable.
Many legal experts have called the lawsuit baseless, but the pressure from the Trump administration may have influenced Paramount’s decision to settle. While Paramount insists the lawsuit has no connection to its Skydance merger or its regulatory approval process, critics say the company is trying to stay on good terms with Trump, who now holds significant sway over U.S. institutions.
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