Trump Is Demanding CBS News Apologize for the Harris Interview as a Condition for Settling His Lawsuit: Will That Break Paramount?

President Trump is demanding an apology as part of any potential settlement to resolve his lawsuit against CBS for its editing of Vice President Harris’s October 2024 interview with “60 Minutes,” according to published reports. Normally, an apology would be a natural part of any defamation settlement, but in this particular case, it could be a dealbreaker.Whether Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, will apologize in order to settle the lawsuit — which coastal media observers have dismissed as “meritless,” “frivolous,” and “easily winnable” — presents a “moral quandary,” according to Puck’s Dylan Byers. Mr. Trump is suing CBS for $20 billion over the Harris interview, which aired a few weeks before the election. The version that aired on “60 Minutes” removed a “word salad” from the beginning of Ms. Harris’s answer to a question about Israel and came at a critical time in the election season when she was facing questions about her ability to speak about serious issues off the cuff. The president insists the editing was deceptive and meant to help the then-vice president, and that it could have cost him the election. CBS has defended its editing, saying it was not deceptive and was merely done for time for brevity and clarity (in this case, it’s possible for the two sides to agree on that point yet disagree on the merits of the suit). CBS has also sought to dismiss the case, calling it an “affront” to the First Amendment, to no avail. The executive chairwoman of Paramount Global, Shari Redstone, on November 7, 2024 at New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/ Getty ImagesMr. Trump’s lawyers said in a filing seeking to keep the case alive that the editing caused him “mental anguish.” So far, the conservative Texas judge overseeing the case, Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, has been ruling in the president’s favor. Hovering over the lawsuit is Paramount’s planned merger with Skydance Media, a transaction that is being held up by the Federal Communications Commission, which needs to approve the deal. The leadership at Paramount reportedly believes that settling Mr. Trump’s lawsuit would pave the way for the FCC to approve the Skydance deal, which is widely seen as crucial to keeping one of the oldest Hollywood studios intact. The Redstone family of Boston, who control Paramount, could face bankruptcy if the transaction, which currently faces an early July deadline, doesn’t close, according to published reports.Paramount recently offered Mr. Trump $15 million to settle the lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal reported. A veteran media reporter, Matthew Belloni, said in his “What I’m Hearing” newsletter that the president’s attorney demanded $50 million. The president is also making an apology a condition of any settlement deal, both the Journal and Mr. Belloni report. In a recent episode of “The Grill Room,” Mr. Byers said Mr. Trump does not “deserve” an apology for the editing. He said that the potential settlement puts Paramount in a tricky position, as it could put the board and the non-executive chairwoman, Shari Redstone, at risk of lawsuits or investigations into allegations that a settlement constitutes a bribe (the Journal first reported that Paramount’s directors are concerned that approving a settlement could open them to criminal prosecution). Kamala Harris sits down with Bill Whitaker for her ’60 Minutes’ interview. CBS NewsThe Trump-appointed chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, has said the president’s lawsuit is unrelated to the review of the Skydance deal. However, his agency is conducting a “news distortion” investigation into the Harris interview over the same issues raised in Mr. Trump’s lawsuit. Mr. Carr has said the “news distortion investigation” could factor into the review of the acquisition. As the Skydance deal is being held up, Democrats and liberal journalists are not buying Mr. Carr’s promise that the Trump lawsuit has nothing to do with the FCC’s review. Indeed, three powerful, liberal Democrats, Senator Sanders, Warren, and Wyden, sent a letter to Ms. Redstone warning a settlement could violate federal anti-bribery laws. Meanwhile, the Freedom of the Press Foundation is vowing to sue Paramount if it settles with Mr. Trump. And Democrats in California’s state senate are opening an investigation into the potential settlement to see if it violates the state’s Unfair Competition Law. One way to try to avoid the appearance of a bribe would be to offer an apology for the editing of the Harris interview — a clear acknowledgment of malfeasance by CBS, which would justify a settlement. However, an apology could present its own hazards. Puck’s Eriq Gardner notes that an admission of wrongdoing on the part of CBS News could lead the FCC to hold up the Skydance deal and subject the network to further scrutiny.Beside the external pressures, there is the chance that a settlement could provoke a defamation lawsuit from the “60 Minutes” producers if they feel they have been “portrayed as having acted unprofessionally,” Mr. Gardner writes.Terminated: Wendy McMahon, CEO of CBS News, is exiting Paramount. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, FileThe prospect of a settlement and an apology roiled the news division at CBS and set up a reported conflict of wills that led to the ouster of the CEO of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon, and the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” Bill Owens. The two ousted executives were reportedly staunch opponents of settling Mr. Trump’s lawsuit. A liberal journalist, Oliver Darcy, reported that they said an “apology” for the editing of the Harris interview was a “red line” they would not cross. A “60 Minutes” star, Lesley Stahl, recently defended the editing of the Harris interview on an episode of “The New Yorker Radio Hour.” Ms. Stahl said she is “angry” with Ms. Redstone for her maneuvering to ensure the Skydance deal is approved. And multiple reports indicate that the staff at “60 Minutes” is vexed with the top brass.It’s unknown if Mr. Trump is demanding an on-camera apology from a “60 Minutes” star or if a written apology from Paramount would suffice. When Disney settled a defamation suit from Mr. Trump last year for $16 million, the two sides agreed to a written apology to appear on ABCNews.com, which said specifically that George Stephanopoulos, the ABC News personality, regretted the error. While executives at Paramount may not believe an apology is warranted, they are likely feeling the pressure of the clock. They may be willing to comply with the apology demand if they believe it will pave the way for the Skydance deal to be approved. The deal has a deadline of October 7 to be completed, at which point it would be dead, and Ms. Redstone would likely lose out on the more than $2 billion her family was set to receive. President Trump denounces CBS News in a conversation with Dan Bongino. RumbleFurther complicating matters, Paramount nominated three new directors to its board, and voting to elect them will take place at the company’s annual meeting on July 2. If a settlement is not reached by then, the new board would have to approve any deal, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ms. Redstone, who has recused herself from settlement negotiations, is eager to ensure the deal goes through, giving her a significant payout and ensuring she does not have to pay a $400 million kill fee. The deal is also seen as necessary to avoid mass layoffs at Paramount — though CBS News is expected to see significant cost reduction measures. Even if Paramount settles with Mr. Trump before its new board members are elected, it is unclear if that would provide enough time for the FCC to complete its review of the Skydance merger by the October 7 deadline. Puck’s Bill Cohan noted on “The Grill Room” that if the deal dies, it might leave Ms. Redstone in a perilous financial situation wherein she not only loses out on the $2.4 billion windfall but is unable to pay her debt obligations to the owner of Skydance, David Ellison, and winds up facing a bankruptcy situation where Mr. Ellison gets her voting shares of Paramount. Representatives for CBS and Paramount did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Trump Is Demanding CBS News Apologize for the Harris Interview as a Condition for Settling His Lawsuit: Will That Break Paramount?

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