“The settlement does not include an apology or a statement of regret,” Paramount said.
US media giant Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over compiling a 2024 interview that aired its subsidiary CBS.
The payments announced Wednesday will be directed to Trump’s planned presidential library, with Paramount saying he will not be given “directly or indirectly.”
The incident comes from a 60-minute broadcast featuring then-President Wies Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris had argued that Trump was apparently edited to benefit Democrats before the 2024 election. Trump initially sought $1 billion in damages and later raised the claim to $20 billion.
CBS described the lawsuit as “completely meritless” and sought to be fired, but the lawsuit proceeded to mediation in April. “The settlement does not include an apology or a statement of regret,” the company’s statement added.
As part of the settlement, the 60 minutes will begin releasing transcripts for interviews with future presidential candidates after the broadcast, unless legal or national security concerns apply.
Trump claimed that a compiled interview with Harris (which appears to be inconsistent in Israel’s comments on the war on Gaza) violated Texas’ deceptive trade practices consumer protection law, making it illegal to use commercially false, misleading or deceptive behavior.
Legal Analysts and Press Freedom Group has raised concerns over Trump’s use of Consumer Protection Act against media outlets, warning that it could be a tactic to avoid constitutional protections given to journalists.
Neither the White House nor Trump’s legal team commented on the settlement.
The settlement follows a decision by Disney-owned ABC News in December, which settles the defamation loss lawsuit with a $15 million donation to Trump’s library and issues a public apology for inaccurate on-air comments.
In January, Facebook and Instagram parent company – agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a lawsuit over Trump’s account halt following Capitol Riot on January 6th.
