A ‘60 Minutes’ Star, Scott Pelley, Fires a Broadside at His Bosses, Says Settling Trump’s Lawsuit Would Be ‘Very Damaging’ to CBS News

A star of CBS News’s “60 Minutes,” Scott Pelley, says it would be “very” damaging to the network and its parent company, Paramount Global, if a deal is struck to settle President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit. Mr. Pelley appeared on CNN on Saturday night and was interviewed by Anderson Cooper — who also contributes stories to “60 Minutes” — after the cable network aired live the Broadway play “Good Night and Good Luck,” about the legendary CBS News journalist Edward R. Murrow and his decision to take a principled stand against Senator McCarthy, and then navigating the corporate pressure that came with speaking out against the powerful senator in the height of the second Red Scare. CNN’s broadcast — with no commercials — of a play about CBS News standing up against the government comes as CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, is trying to reach a settlement of the $20 billion lawsuit Mr. Trump filed against CBS over how CBS News producers edited Vice President Harris’s October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes.” The controversial edit removed a “word salad” from the beginning of her answer to a question about Israel. Executives at Paramount reportedly believe that settling the president’s lawsuit would pave the way for the Federal Communications Commission to approve its crucial merger with Skydance Media. Shari Redstone, whose family controls Paramount, faces a “nightmare scenario” if the deal collapses — there is a July 6 deadline to close, though that can be extended until October — according to Puck’s Bill Cohan. Mr. Cohan writes that the financial consequences are “mind-boggling” should the merger fail, as she’d have to come up with $550 million that she doesn’t have to pay back various injured parties.CBS News has been denounced by President Trump for its editing of the ’60 Minutes’ Kamala Harris interview. Via CBS NewsThe consequences could also be very serious for Paramount, one of the last major studios and a source of thousands of jobs in the entertainment community. Despite these bigger picture issues, CBS News’s reliably liberal producers have been increasingly vocal about their opposition to such a deal, which would likely require some form of an apology. They are enlisting support from powerful, far-left senators as well as from interest groups and the California legislature to up the pressure on Paramount.Mr. Pelley told Mr. Cooper that he believes Murrow would be on the side of CBS News staff who oppose a settlement. He told Mr. Cooper that settling the president’s lawsuit would be “very damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the reputation of those companies.”The prospect of a settlement and an apology roiled the news division and led to the ouster of two top executives: the CEO of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, and the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens. The two dissenters said an apology was a “red line” they would not cross, according to a liberal journalist, Oliver Darcy, writing in his “Status” newsletter.President Trump denounces CBS News in a conversation with Dan Bongino. Via RumbleIn his departure letter, Mr. Owens said he had lost the ability to make independent decisions for the show, and his resignation was widely seen as a forced ouster. Multiple reports indicated that Ms. Redstone, who is Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel, had become frustrated with what she felt was an anti-Israel bent at “60 Minutes,” and was also concerned about the newsmagazine program’s weekly drumbeat of overtly anti-Trump stories, which were an irritant to the settlement conversations. Ms. McMahon told CBS she disagreed with her bosses about the “path forward.” Puck’s Dylan Byers reported that she was actually fired due to management’s broader disapproval of her leadership but was allowed to resign to save face. Speaking to Mr. Cooper, Mr. Pelley said that Paramount started to “meddle” in Mr. Owens’s decisions about the editorial content of “60 Minutes,” which he later softened slightly to say that top executives would “just place pressure in that area.”Mr. Pelley says he wishes the “top echelons” of CBS would say “60 Minutes” is a “crown jewel of American journalism and we stand behind it a hundred percent.”“On the other hand, my work is getting on the air. And I have not had anyone outside ‘60 Minutes’ put their thumb on the scale and say, ‘You can’t say that. You should say this. You have to edit the story in this way. You should interview this person.’ None of that has happened,” he said. Kamala Harris sits down with Bill Whitaker for her ’60 Minutes’ interview. Via CBS NewsThe idea of settling the lawsuit has provoked backlash from Democrats and liberal scholars and journalists who say Mr. Trump’s lawsuit is “meritless” and “frivolous.” Lawyers for CBS Inc. have repeatedly tried to get the case dismissed, calling it an “affront” to the First Amendment. However, the Texas-based judge overseeing the case, Matthew Kacsmaryk, a conservative Trump appointee, has rejected their requests. As the lawsuit has been kept alive, the Paramount-Skydance deal — which would provide a much-needed infusion of cash to Paramount and help keep one of Hollywood’s oldest studios intact — has been on hold as the FCC needs to approve the deal. The Trump-appointed chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, has stated that the president’s lawsuit is unrelated to the review process. However, his agency is conducting a news distortion investigation of the Harris interview, which he said could factor into the review of the merger. Many outside observers do not believe the merger will be approved until Mr. Trump’s lawsuit is settled. Mr. Carr’s statement is not convincing Democratic lawmakers, who have warned that a settlement could violate federal anti-bribery laws — the Wall Street Journal reported in February that Paramount executives have raised concerns that settling Mr. Trump’s lawsuit could be seen as a bribe. Three powerful, liberal Democratic senators, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Ron Wyden, sent a letter to Ms. Redstone warning that a settlement could constitute bribery. Meanwhile, California’s state senate said it is investigating the prospect of a deal. Paramount also faces the threat of lawsuits if it settles Mr. Trump’s lawsuit. The Freedom of the Press Foundation has said it would sue if Paramount settles the lawsuit. Last week, the group hired high-profile lawyers to represent it, including Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell.Scott Pelley denounces President Trump during his commencement speech at Wake Forest University. Via Wake Forest UniversityIn a statement, Mr. Lowell said, “If the Board proceeds with any kind of backroom deal, it would be a blatant breach of its fiduciary duty.”“Trading away the credibility of CBS’s news division to curry favor with the Trump Administration is an improper and reckless act that will irreparably damage the company’s brand and destroy shareholder value. The Board is legally and morally obligated to protect the company, not auction off its integrity for regulatory approval,” he added. The advocacy director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Seth Stern, said settling the lawsuit would “irreparably damage Paramount and CBS” and “encourage further shakedowns of news outlets, film studios, and others who depend on their First Amendment right to say things Donald Trump might not like.”A settlement could also spark defamation lawsuits from “60 Minutes” producers, as it is believed any deal to resolve the lawsuit would have to come with an apology. Who would make the apology, and whether it would be on-air or off-air, is unclear. Past corrections by “60 Minutes” have taken place on camera, delivered by CBS News talent. Dan Rather apologized during the “CBS Evening News” for an erroneous 2024 “60 Minutes II” report on President George W. Bush’s Vietnam War service. In 2013, a then-“60 Minutes” correspondent, Lara Logan, apologized on the CBS News morning show, then called “CBS This Morning,” for a segment about the Benghazi debacle based on the false account of a military contractor who wasn’t actually there.Scott Pelley defiantly denounces his employers at the end of ’60 Minutes.’ Via CBS Mr. Trump is reportedly demanding an apology to settle his “60 Minutes” lawsuit. Offering an apology and a statement that the editing of the Harris interview crossed a line could also help muddy the waters and avoid the appearance of a bribe. However, Puck’s Eriq Gardner wrote last week that “60 Minutes” producers might sue the network for defamation if they feel it is accusing them of acting improperly in their editorial decisions. Mr. Pelley is not the only star of “60 Minutes” to publicly state his disapproval of a settlement. Lesley Stahl defended the editing of the Harris interview while speaking with journalist David Remnick on “The New Yorker Radio Hour,” even as she said she did not really know the specifics of what was edited.She told Mr. Remnick she is “angry” with Ms. Redstone for pushing to settle the president’s lawsuit and apparently putting some pressure on “60 Minutes.”Ousted: Executive Producer Bill Owens of ’60 Minutes’ Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images“To have a news organization come under corporate pressure, to have a news organization told by a corporation, ‘Do this, do that with your story. Change this, change that. Don’t run that piece.’ I mean, it steps on the First Amendment. It steps on freedom of the press. It makes me question whether any corporation should own a news operation. It is very disconcerting,” Ms. Stahl said. Ms. Stahl declined to share what her “red line” would be that would lead her to resign from CBS. However, there has been speculation that a settlement could lead to mass resignations in protest.During Mr. Pelley’s interview with Mr. Cooper, he suggested Murrow would resign in protest if Paramount settled Mr. Trump’s lawsuit.

A ‘60 Minutes’ Star, Scott Pelley, Fires a Broadside at His Bosses, Says Settling Trump’s Lawsuit Would Be ‘Very Damaging’ to CBS News

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