Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
Paramount paid $16 million to settle Trump’s “60 Minutes” lawsuit while its merger awaited his administration’s approval
The money goes to Trump’s future presidential library, with no apology. The settlement was announced on July 1, 2025, as the FCC under Brendan Carr was still reviewing the Skydance merger.
What happened
Late on July 1, 2025, Paramount announced it would pay $16 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit over the editing of an October 2024 “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. The money, minus fees, goes to Trump’s future presidential library, not to him or co-plaintiff Rep. Ronny Jackson directly. CBS agreed to release transcripts of future presidential-candidate interviews. There is no apology.
Trump had sued for $10 billion under a Texas consumer-protection law, later demanding $20 billion. CBS said it had trimmed the answer for time, and Paramount called the suit without merit. A joint notice of settlement was filed in the Northern District of Texas on July 2. The sum matched ABC’s December 2024 settlement with Trump.
Paramount needed the administration’s approval for its Skydance merger, because CBS owns federally licensed stations. Before becoming FCC chair, Brendan Carr had said the “60 Minutes” complaint was “likely to arise” in that review. “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens and CBS News chief Wendy McMahon had already resigned over corporate interference.
Who benefited
Trump’s future presidential library received $16 million from a news organization he was pressuring. He also gained a precedent that litigation plus regulatory leverage can extract payments from broadcasters. Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, stood to make hundreds of millions of dollars if the merger closed.
Who wanted something
Trump and his legal team called it a “record settlement” holding “Fake News media accountable.” FCC chair Brendan Carr had linked the editing complaint to the merger review. Paramount executives wanted regulatory clearance for the Skydance deal.
Who lost out
CBS News journalists saw their own company pay to settle a case that First Amendment lawyers called frivolous. The Writers Guild called the deal a “transparent attempt to curry favors.” Viewers saw a network concede over an editorial decision, and the deal showed a path for a sitting president to be paid on lawsuits against coverage.
Why it matters
A sitting president obtained a multimillion-dollar payment from a broadcaster over an interview edit, while his appointee controlled approval of that company’s merger. The settlement was structured as a gift to a library. The leverage behind it was governmental.
Sources U.S. District Court, N.D. Texas (via CourtListener) (primary)ReutersCNN BusinessParamount Global (letter to Sens. Warren, Sanders, Wyden) (primary)