When Donald J. Trump accused a CBS for the 2024 CBS elections and accused the company of cheating a “60 minutes” interview with vice-president Kamala Harris, many legal experts rejected the lawsuits as a far-fetched attempt to get out To punish an out of -or priot news output.
Now Mr Trump is back in the White House, and many managers of the parent company of CBS, Paramount, are of the opinion that arranging the lawsuit would increase the chance that the Trump administration would not block their planned merger of millions of dollars or Postpone with another company, according to different people with knowledge of the case.
According to three people with knowledge of the conversations, settlement discussions between representatives of Paramount and Mr Trump are now underway. However, there is no certainty that they will result in a deal, and it is unclear what the conditions of such a deal can include.
According to two people with knowledge of her thinking, Shari Redstone, the controller of Paramount, strongly supports the effort to settle. Mrs. Redstone means to erase billions of dollars about the sale of Paramount, the media empire founded by her father Sumner Redstone, in a deal with Skydance, an entertainment company supported by the billionaire Larry Ellison and run by his son David.
A settlement would have been an extraordinary concession by a large American media company to a sitting president, especially in a case where there is no evidence that the network has done facts wrong or damaged the plaintiff's reputation.
It can also cause a commotion within CBS News and among the “60 minutes” staff. Journalists at the network have expressed great concern about the idea of their parent company that arranges a lawsuit that they regard as the standard prize of a politician about the editorial opinion of a news organization, according to various people who are familiar with internal discussions.
Edward Paltzik, Mr. Trump's lawyer in the case, wrote on Thursday in a statement: “Real responsibility for CBS and Paramount will ensure that the president is compensated for the damage caused to him, and will prevent fake news from the facts further disturb to promote a partisan agenda. President Trump is looking forward to a just conclusion on this case. “
During the “60 minutes” interview in the center of the lawsuit, which was broadcast in October, the CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker Mrs. Harris asked a question about the conflict in the middle -east.
In a preview of the interview that was broadcast on 'Face the Nation', Mrs. Harris of CBS 'Sunday Morning Show was shown with another answer than the person she gave in the version of the interview that was the next evening at' 60 minutes broadcast on '60 minutes. “
Mr. Trump's team accused “60 minutes” of selecting a more coherent quote from Mrs. Harris for the prime-time broadcast to stimulate its candidacy. CBS News said that Mrs Harris had given a long answer to Mr Whitaker's question, and that the network followed standard journalistic practice by sending another part of her answer in prime time Due to time limitations.
“The interview was not proted,” said CBS News in a statement in October, adding that it “did not hide part of Mrs. Harris's answer. At the time, the network described Mr. Trump's lawsuit as” completely without merit. “
Mr. Trump's legal complaint was based on a largely non -tested interpretation of a law in Texas that prohibits deceptive commercial practices in things such as marketing products for consumers. Among other things, objections to the lawsuit have noted CBS lawyers that Mr. Trump's position to bring the case in Texas at his best weak.
Regardless of the merit of the lawsuit, the administration of Mr. Trump lifts leverage. Because Paramount has the temporary employment permits, it needs the blessing of the Federal Communications Commission to complete its planned merger with Skydance.
People in Paramount expect the FCC, which is now led by a Trump -appointed, Brendan Carr, to ask CBS News an unprocessed transcript of his interview with Mrs. Harris, according to people with knowledge of the plans. CBS had refused earlier requests from Mr Trump's lawyers to release the transcript.
Mr Carr said that the committee would do that Probably look at the interview with “60 minutes” as part of the assessment of the Paramount merger.
Mr Trump's demonization of the news media is a center of his political turnout, and he has repeatedly clashes with “60 minutes”, which is the most popular television news show in the country. He refused to be interviewed by the program during last year's presidential race. In 2020, Mr. Trump broke off an interview with Lesley Stahl after being irritated by her questions; His campaign then did not place -flagged images of the interview online.
In recent months, “60 minutes” has also had to deal with the control of Mrs. Redstone himself, who, according to two people at CBS managers, complained about a story with employees from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who have expressed doubts about the handling of the war Between Israel and Hamas, according to two people familiar with the issue. One day after the segment was broadcast, CBS News installed an old producer, Susan Zirinsky, as an interim -executive editor who supervised journalistic norms and practices.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Paramount Executives discussed a possible scheme internally. If the company reaches such a deal, it would at least be the third major company in recent weeks to arrange a lawsuit of Mr Trump.
Last month, ABC News paid $ 15 million to resolve Mr Trump's defamation against the network and his anchor George Stephanopoulos, who had undamaged that the president was “liable for rape” in a civil process in New York. (In fact, Mr. Trump was liable for sexual abuse.)
And on Wednesday, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it had agreed to a settlement of $ 25 million to resolve a lawsuit that Mr. Trump has brought after the social networks suspended his accounts in 2021.
Benjamin Mullin And David Enrich contributed reporting.
