Paramount, the parent company of CBS, reached a settlement with President Donald Trump to pay $16 million after the company was accused of deceptively editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret,” Paramount Global said in a statement. “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.”
The $16 million is expected to cover legal fees, case costs, and contributions to his future presidential library, Fox News reported. Anonymous sources have indicated that CBS will implement a new rule to release full, unedited transcripts of presidential candidates’ interviews.
Earlier this year, several Democratic senators called for Paramount to refuse a settlement. The letter to Paramount, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), called the lawsuit an “attack on the United States Constitution and the First Amendment. It has absolutely no merit and it cannot stand.”
“In the United States of America, presidents do not get to punish or censor the media for criticizing them,” the letter argued. “Freedom of the press is what sets us apart from tin pot dictatorships and authoritarian regimes.”
The Writers Guild of America East condemned the settlement, claiming it was a “transparent attempt to curry favors” with the Trump administration. “The Writers Guild of America East stands behind the exemplary work of our members at ’60 Minutes’ and CBS News. We wish their bosses at Paramount Global had the courage to do the same,” the statement read, adding, “Paramount’s decision to capitulate to Trump threatens journalists’ ability to do their job reporting on powerful public figures.”
