Trump rejects Paramount’s $15 million settlement offer in CBS News lawsuit

By lauraharris // 2025-06-03

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President Donald Trump turned down a $15 million settlement offer from Paramount Global, demanding over $25 million and a public apology from CBS News in his $20 billion lawsuit alleging election interference.
The suit centers on claims that CBS News deceptively edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris before the 2024 election to protect her public image. The FCC later confirmed both aired segments were from the same response but shown in separate broadcasts.
Trump's team accuses CBS News of intentionally airing different portions of Harris' answer to mislead viewers. CBS News denies wrongdoing, stating the edits were within normal journalistic standards.
Shari Redstone, Paramount's controlling shareholder, quietly pushed for a settlement to avoid jeopardizing the company's merger with Skydance Media. This led to newsroom unrest, including the resignations of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens and CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon.
Paramount's merger with Skydance still awaits FCC approval under the Trump administration. Journalists at CBS News have pushed back against corporate pressure, with public criticism of Trump and defense of press freedom surfacing from within the network.

President Donald Trump has rejected a $15 million settlement offer from Paramount Global to resolve his high-stakes lawsuit against CBS News, intensifying an already tense legal battle that has broad implications for media, politics and Paramount's looming merger with Skydance Media. The lawsuit, originally filed in October 2024 for $10 billion and later amended to $20 billion, centers on allegations that CBS News engaged in election interference. Trump's legal team claims that the network deceptively edited a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President and 2024 Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the lead-up to the presidential election, airing selectively edited footage to protect the Democratic ticket. (Related: Biden regime under investigation for 2024 ELECTION INTERFERENCE.) At issue is an exchange between Harris and "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker, who questioned her on why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be ignoring the Biden administration. A preview clip of the interview aired on "Face the Nation" featured Harris giving a "word salad" answer, which became widely ridiculed on social media. However, when the full interview aired later as part of a primetime special, Harris' response appeared more measured and coherent. Trump's team alleges that CBS News manipulated the footage to benefit Harris by airing only the more favorable portion during the primetime broadcast. Trump's legal team accused CBS of intentionally editing Harris' remarks to reduce public backlash. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) later released the raw transcript and footage, revealing that both versions of Harris' comments came from the same answer. The network aired only the first part of the response in the preview and the latter half during the main program, sparking accusations of editorial bias. CBS has strongly denied the claim, stating the interview was "not doctored or deceitful." Paramount Global, its parent company, has maintained that the editing was within standard journalistic practices. Instead, it offers a $15 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit.

Trump's legal team demands over $25 million and formal apology

However, the offer, made during ongoing settlement talks that began over a month ago, was deemed insufficient by Trump's legal team, which is now demanding more than $25 million in compensation as well as a formal apology from CBS News. Trump's legal team has also threatened to bring a separate lawsuit against the network over a long-standing pattern of biased news coverage. Shari Redstone, a controlling shareholder at Paramount Global, is quietly pushing to settle Trump's $20 billion lawsuit – a move insiders say is intended to smooth the path for Paramount's multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance Media. Though Redstone formally recused herself from direct settlement negotiations in February, multiple sources say she made clear behind closed doors that resolving the Trump lawsuit was a top priority, particularly given that the merger still requires approval from the Trump administration's FCC. That strategic calculus has sparked internal friction across the CBS News division, culminating in the abrupt resignation of "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens. Owens reportedly stepped down after growing pressure from Redstone and senior executives to "keep tabs" on the network's reporting related to Trump, which he said compromised the newsroom's editorial independence. The resignation came just days before the ousting of CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon, who cited disagreements with corporate leadership as the reason for her sudden departure. Sources familiar with the situation claimed McMahon strongly resisted any deal that would involve apologizing to Trump or altering the network's editorial stance as part of a legal settlement. Follow Rigged.news for more stories about election interference. Watch this report from Fox News about Special Counsel Jack Smith dropping his election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump.

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Trump's legal team demands over $25 million and formal apology

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