More Chaos at CBS News as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren Demand That Paramount Not Settle With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris Interview

A group of Democratic senators is seeking to increase the pressure on Paramount as it is in mediation talks to settle President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit that stems from the selective editing of Vice President Harris’s interview with CBS News’s “60 Minutes.”In a letter to the nonexecutive chairwoman of Paramount, Shari Redstone, first reported by the New York Times, a group of eight senators — including Senators Warren and Sanders — urged the board of Paramount to “stand up for freedom of the press and our democracy” by not settling Mr. Trump’s lawsuit.The senators argued lawyers for CBS “did the right thing” by filing two motions to dismiss Mr. Trump’s lawsuit as they said, “We, and most legal experts who have reviewed this case, could not agree more. This lawsuit is 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. Freedom of the press is what sets us apart from tin pot dictatorships and authoritarian regimes,” the letter said. “Unfortunately, it appears that Paramount is now seeking to settle this case with Trump for as much as $75 million. In our view, that would be a grave mistake. We urge you and Paramount’s board of directors to reconsider.”Mr. Trump said during a Cabinet meeting in February that he believes CBS should pay “a lot” for the edit of the Harris interview, which removed the “word salad” beginning of her answer to a question about Israel and made it more coherent. The president says the change, which came at a time when Ms. Harris’s lack of coherence and avoidance of substantive interviews had become a major issue, could have cost him the 2024 election. The edit also sparked a news distortion complaint from the Center for American Rights. CBS is one of a handful of legacy “broadcast networks” (the others include ABC, NBC, and Fox) that transmit their programming over public airwaves. This makes them legally required to provide balanced and responsible news coverage, as well as family-appropriate entertainment programming. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, said on Monday that his agency had not concluded its investigation into the news distortion complaint and did not rule out revoking CBS’s broadcast license, which he said is simply a “penalty that is in the Communications Act.”Looming over Mr. Trump’s lawsuit and the news distortion complaint is Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance Media, which would deliver about $2 billion to the Redstone family if the deal is consummated. The deal needs the approval of the FCC, and Mr. Carr has said the Harris interview could factor into his agency’s review of the Skydance deal. As the review process has dragged on, Ms. Redstone and other executives at Paramount have reportedly come to believe that the way to ensure the Skydance deal goes through is to settle Mr. Trump’s lawsuit. The Wall Street Journal reported that executives at Paramount had agreed internally to pay up to $20 million to settle the suit. However, it is expected that the president will seek a higher amount. Puck’s Dylan Byers reported last week that some estimates he has heard of a potential settlement reach as high as $75 million. The Atlantic reported this week that as Mr. Trump seeks to reshape the “celebrated cultural institution” of the Kennedy Center at Washington “in his image,” there have been concerns about whether donations to the performing arts theater would drop off. However, the president has become a major fundraiser for the theater, and some of his allies have suggested that a potential CBS settlement include money for the Kennedy Center, according to the Atlantic. Left-wing legal scholars and journalists have scoffed at the merits of Mr. Trump’s lawsuit — which was filed in Texas, where it’s being overseen by a conservative judge — as they insist it is baseless. The Journal reported that Paramount executives have also expressed concern that settling the lawsuit could be seen as a bribe, which could expose them to potential criminal charges. One way to try to defeat the allegation of a bribe would be for CBS to issue an apology for the editing of the Harris interview. The CEO of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, and the outgoing producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens, have said an apology is a “red line” they will not cross.Mr. Owens announced his resignation in April after months of growing tensions with Ms. Redstone over “60 Minutes” and its coverage of Israel. His departure came as Ms. Redstone has reportedly been seeking to impose more editorial control on the famously independent “60 Minutes.”Mr. Byers reported that Ms. Redstone asked if the storied news program could delay anti-Trump stories until after the FCC approves the Skydance deal. So far, it appears that request has been ignored by executives at CBS News, as “60 Minutes” has aired near-weekly anti-Trump segments about his dream of acquiring Greenland and efforts to secure a peace deal to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last week, the show ran a story focused on the president’s battle with law firms that helped or employed some of his opponents.With two weeks left until the current season of “60 Minutes” ends and the show airs re-runs, it remains to be seen what will happen if Paramount and Mr. Trump reach a deal to settle his lawsuit. According to “The Breaker” podcast, the staff of the show plan to publicly express their disapproval of a settlement if a deal is reached before the end of the season. It is unclear if executives at CBS and Paramount, who have so far given the show leeway enough to publicly rebuke Paramount, would tolerate criticism of the settlement or if those who refuse to endorse or offer the apology would be fired. While the Democratic senators urged Ms. Redstone to abandon efforts to settle Mr. Trump’s lawsuit for the sake of “our democracy,” Puck has reported that the Redstone family is desperate to complete the sale as Paramount’s value has cratered. The Redstones would have to pay a hefty kill fee if the deal fails, and they would be stuck with the struggling company. Additionally, Hollywood observers have noted that the deal would provide a much-needed infusion of cash to Paramount and keep the company intact, helping to avoid a wave of layoffs.

More Chaos at CBS News as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren Demand That Paramount Not Settle With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Harris Interview

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