President Trump publicly confirmed on Wednesday that he and the CBS corporation are in settlement talks regarding the controversial “60 Minutes” interview of Kamala Harris and said he expects the Tiffany Network to pay him “a lot.”

During Mr. Trump’s first Cabinet meeting of his second term,  he was asked about reports of settlement talks and if he wants to see his lawsuit against CBS News go to trial.

“Well, CBS did something that was amazing. Kamala was unable to answer a question properly. And they took the question that they asked and they inserted an answer. They gave her an answer. This was two days before the election… the Sunday night before the election,” he said. “They put her words from another question that was asked about half an hour later and put that into the question.”

He also said he’d be less bothered if CBS News had just “changed a word or two, or cut off half a sentence,” which he said has happened with some of his interviews for “brevity.”

Some details in his explanation of the controversy were incorrect. The interview aired on October 7, not two days before the election. And while Mr. Trump was correct that “60 Minutes” edited Ms. Harris’ answer to a question in a way that made her sound more coherent – at a time when her lack of coherence and avoidance of news interviews had become a major campaign issue – his account of what specifically was changed was also wrong.

 During a question about Prime Minister Netanyahu, Ms. Harris responded with a lengthy, meandering answer that critics call a “word salad.”

“Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. And we’re not going to stop doing that. We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end,” Ms. Harris said in the full, unedited transcript.

In the version that aired on “60 Minutes”, the first half of her answer was gone, making it seem like she answered the reporter’s question quickly and articulately.  It is somewhat standard practice for news outlets to edit interviews for “brevity”, as Mr. Trump put it, and clarity. However, at the time of Ms. Harris’ interview, she was facing attacks over her ability to speak off the cuff, and it was a chance to try to prove her critics wrong. CBS aided in that effort. They also refused to release a transcript of the full interview as recorded and did not do so until ordered to by Mr. Trump’s FCC. 

Mr. Trump’s comments on Wednesday seemed to potentially undermine his case with his implication that it would be OK if CBS News edited Ms. Harris’ interview for brevity, which the network has maintained is the case. However, CBS reportedly entered the settlement talks, instead of seeking to have the case thrown out or take it to court, in order to appease the White House as its parent company, Paramount Global, seeks regulatory approval for its acquisition by the son of billionaire Larry Ellison.   

The FCC also reopened an investigation – that had been closed by the Biden Administration’s FCC – into “news distortion” by CBS related to the Harris interview. Unlike cable or streaming channels, CBS is legally required to produce unbiased and fair news coverage since it has exclusive use of lucrative public airwaves. 

While Mr. Trump confirmed he is in talks to settle the case, he said during the Cabinet meeting that the changes to Ms. Harris’ interview could have impacted the election. “I could’ve lost the election because of that,” he said of the Harris interview, adding that as a result, he believes the settlement amount should be “a lot”. He did not provide any monetary figures. 

Multiple reports indicate that Paramount Global and Mr. Trump have agreed to appoint a mediator in the lawsuit. An attorney for the 47th president, Ed Paltzik, told Fox News Digital, “President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, hoaxes, and lies to account.”

“CBS and Paramount committed the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history. President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion,” Mr. Paltzik said.

Representatives for CBS News and Paramount did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. 

Multiple reports say that the owner of Paramount Global, Shari Redstone, has been pushing for the settlement in Mr. Trump’s lawsuit, even as left-wing legal scholars argue the case is “meritless.” 

Ms. Redstone reportedly believes that settling the lawsuit would be an olive branch to the Trump administration and could ensure that the Paramount deal to merge with Skydance – which is owned by Larry Ellison’s son, David – goes through. 

Some executives at Paramount are fretting that the settlement could put them at legal risk, the Wall Street Journal reports, due to concerns that the deal could be interpreted as a bribe to government officials to pave the way for the Skydance deal. 

One way to help defang the allegations of a bribe would be an admission of fault from CBS. Thus far, the network has steadfastly insisted it committed no wrongdoing with the way it edited Ms. Harris’ interview. In a statement after CBS was forced by the FCC to release the full transcript of the interview, CBS News insisted the decisions behind the edits were made for “time, space, or clarity” and not to help the vice president’s failed presidential bid.

If CBS News says it erred in its edits, there could still be questions about why the admission came only after Mr. Trump took control of the levers of government, but it could also provide legal cover for the settlement.

Any settlement, and certainly an apology, would enrage CBS News’ left-wing staff, which has steadily churned out news reports almost universally hostile to Mr. Trump across multiple broadcasts.   The executive producer of “60 Minutes,”  Bill Owens, has reportedly been telling staff he will not issue an apology for the editing decisions.

In a meeting earlier this month, reported by the New York Times, Mr. Owens told staff, “There have been reports in the media about a settlement and/or apology. The company knows I will not apologize for anything we have done.”

“The edit is perfectly fine; let’s put that to bed so we can get on with our lives,” he said. 

Additionally, the chief executive of CBS News, Wendy McMahon, has reportedly been frustrating her bosses and likely future bosses with her indiscreet criticism of settlement talks.

While Mr. Owens and Ms. McMahon likely believe their stand against the settlement is protecting journalism and the network, the bad press alone generated by the contretemps could put their jobs on the chopping block as Skydance is reportedly looking to move past CBS News’ multiple scandals that the two executives have presided over in recent months. 

In addition to the “60 Minutes” brouhaha, CBS News has also been rocked by controversies over liberal bias and misstatements by one of their news personalities, Margaret Brennan; anti-Israel programming, editorial policies and inhouse sentiment; and a bizarre revamp of the storied “CBS Evening News”, overseen by Mr. Owens, in which daily news has taken a back seat to turgid features and weather reports.

“She’ll be gone in six months,” the connected Hollywood journalist, Matt Belloni, said of Ms. McMahon recently on his Puck podcast.