OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:30 PM – Friday, January 31, 2025
CBS News staffers have reportedly expressed their outrage over the network’s parent company’s intentions of reaching a settlement in the $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit revolves around the network’s previous “60 Minutes” interview with failed Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump previously filed the lawsuit in October, accusing the outlet of deviously manipulating the interview with Harris in a way that propped her up and made her sound more intelligible — through editing and splicing methods during production.
The interview in question was with host Bill Whitaker on “60 Minutes,” where the network aired two separate answers Harris gave to a single question regarding why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t “listening” to the demands of the United States.
One posted Harris response that the network featured in a promotional clip had differed from the answer she gave on the actual broadcast, which Trump and his allies argued was proof of clear manipulation of the interview in her favor.
Paramount chairwoman Shari Redstone recently began talks with Trump’s legal team regarding a possible payout, resulting in backlash from the network’s staffers who argue that the settlement could set a “bad precedent for press freedom.”
“Trump’s lawsuit was a joke, but if we settle, we become the laughingstock,” expressed an anonymous CBS staffer, according to CNN.
Both CBS News president Wendy McMahon and “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens are reportedly opposed to the settlement.
Meanwhile, the outlet’s parent company, Paramount Global, seeks a fresh start with the new Trump administration amidst its merger with Skydance, which requires approval by the Federal Communications Commission.
Trump’s lawyer, Edward Paltzik, stated that “real accountability for CBS and Paramount will ensure that the president is compensated for the harm done to him.”
The settlement talks follow after the Walt Disney Company reached a settlement agreement over a defamation lawsuit relating to comments made by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, who falsely claimed that Trump was found liable of rape in the E. Jean Carroll case.
Disney agreed to donate $15 million towards Trump’s presidential library, along with covering $1 million in legal fees.
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