CBS journalists expressed concern over reports that the network’s parent company, Paramount, will settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump over the edit of a 60 Minutes interview.
Trump sued CBS for $10 billion in October after claiming that 60 Minutes edited its broadcast to be more favorable to his opponent in the presidential election, Kamala Harris.
Despite the lawsuit being dismissed as baseless by legal experts, and called “completely without merit” by CBS in October, Paramount is reportedly looking to settle in a bid to curry favor with the new administration.
“Trump’s lawsuit was a joke, but if we settle, we become the laughingstock,” a CBS correspondent told CNN.
Paramount believes that settling the lawsuit would help with their multi billion dollar merger with Skydance Media, which could be blocked or delayed by the Trump administration, The New York Times reported. Representatives for Trump and Paramount are in talks now to reach a deal.
As no evidence of bias has been presented and legal experts argue that CBS’ edit falls under the First Amendment, the settlement would be a major concession to the president.
These kinds of settlements have become more common since Trump returned to power. ABC News paid Trump $15 million last month because anchor George Stephanopoulos said Trump was found “liable for rape” instead of “liable for sexual assault.”
Meta agreed to a $25 million settlement after banning Trump’s social media accounts after Jan. 6.
Read it at CNN
