Paramount Global has reached a settlement with President Donald Trump over his lawsuit against CBS News and its interview with Kamala Harris that aired on 60 Minutes.
The organization agreed to pay $16 million to the future presidential library founded by Trump’s foundation to settle the suit. That’s just over the $15 million figure that ABC News paid to the President’s foundation for a lawsuit he filed against that outlet and its anchor, George Stephanopoulos.
As part of the settlement, 60 Minutes has committed to releasing full transcripts of presidential candidates in the future.
“The Company has agreed that in the future, 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns,” a statement from the network stated.
Additionally, CBS News has not admitted to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
“The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret,” a statement read.
In the lawsuit, Trump alleged that 60 Minutes had acted improperly in editing the interview with Harris in an attempt to make her look more electable. When he launched the lawsuit, he sought $10 billion in damages initially, before upping that figure to $20 billion.
CBS News continued to claim that it had done nothing wrong and would fight the challenge. In a statement released by Trump’s legal team, they allege that CBS and Paramount Global “realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle.”
The settlement comes as Paramount Global is in the midst of attempting a merger with Skydance Media. That merger requires government approval.
Additionally, the settlement closes the book on a tumultuous period for CBS News. The outlet’s president, Wendy McMahon, and longtime 60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens both exited hastily over the parent company’s interest in settling the lawsuit.
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