Politics
NEW: Paramount Caves, Offers Settlement For Trump’s ’60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
Paramount executives are nearing a deal with President Donald Trump to settle allegations that producers at CBS’ “60 Minutes” deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris last year to help her try to win the presidential election.
The offer, set to be discussed Wednesday in the first mediation between both camps, is a tacit acknowledgement of how desperate the entertainment company’s upper echelon has become to end Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit.
During an April 18th meeting, Paramount allegedly outlined financial parameters for a potential settlement with the president, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions. The exact dollar amount is unclear, but reaching a consensus would pave the way for both sides to seek dismissal of the suit.
Shari Redstone, the non-executive chair of Paramount and majority shareholder, has previously said she favors settling the suit rather than risking a protracted and extremely public legal fight with a sitting president. At the same time, the film company is seeking to be acquired by Skydance in an $8 billion deal that would require approval by federal regulators and represents a major windfall for Redstone personally.
Scott Pelley, the longtime host of “60 Minutes,” devoted the closing segment on Sunday to denouncing Paramount’s pledge to take a more active role in the stories his team reports and suggested the pending merger played a role.
“Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,” he said while explaining the decision of the show’s longtime executive producer to resign in protest.
Sources who spoke with the NY Times said the CBS News division is dismayed by Paramount caving to the Trump administration, which has threatened other media outlets with lawsuits, defunding, or the denial of broadcasting licenses.
In December, ABC News agreed to pay $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Trump after George Stephanopoulos repeated said the president was found guilty of rape, an incorrect designation based on a judge’s decision in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Recent outbursts by Trump about “60 Minutes” stories had unnerved Redstone, members of the show’s team said. She asked George Cheeks, Paramount’s co-chief executive, to brief her about politically sensitive segments after President Trump admonished the show for its coverage of his interest in acquiring Greenland.
Bill Owens, the show’s former executive producer, broke the news of his resignation in an emotional meeting last Tuesday, where he said he had become “the corporation’s problem” and that it had become untenable to operate “60 Minutes” with additional oversight. Multiple media outlets and sources close to the show’s production say neither Redstone nor anyone else at Paramount requested edits or shutdowns to active segments.
An audio recording of the meeting reveals Owens struggling to get the words out as he laments “having a minder” from Paramount watching over him.
“In a million years,” he said, “the corporation didn’t know what was coming up.”
A conflict between “60 Minutes” and Paramount over its coverage could come as soon as this Sunday, when CBS is set to air an upcoming segment about major law firms and their conflicts of interest with the Trump administration, according to two sources with knowledge of the segment.
