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The agreement involving CBS's parent company was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, July 2. First Amendment experts have criticized Paramount's decision to settle the case, calling Trump's lawsuit frivolous.
Paramount said the $16 million payment will cover Trump's legal fees and go to his Presidential library.
"No amount will be paid directly or indirectly to President Trump," Paramount said in a statement to the LA Times. "The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement, including the Texas action and the threatened defamation action."
The settlement comes as Paramount pushes to sell the company to Skydance Media, led by the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. The move requires Trump administration approval through the Federal Communications Commission.
The lawsuit stems from Trump's complaints about a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris in October 2024. Trump claimed his Democratic rival's answers were deceptively edited, but legal experts have said Trump's accusations were baseless.
Trump has repeatedly accused "60 Minutes" of bias and election interference, despite pulling out of an interview with the show before the 2024 election. Trump's lawyers claimed the edits caused him "mental anguish," and after he returned to the White House, they raised the damages he was seeking to $20 billion in a Texas federal court.
CBS has acknowledged editing the interview in a routine manner that's constantly seen in broadcast TV news reporting. Paramount emphasized that the settlement doesn't include an apology or any admission of wrongdoing.
Under the settlement, "60 Minutes" will now release full transcripts of interviews with eligible Presidential candidates after they air. Redactions will only be allowed for legal or national security reasons.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation had threatened to sue Paramount if the company settled with Trump.
"As Paramount's own lawyers note, Trump often doesn't even attempt to cite cases supporting his cockamamie legal theories or refuting the decades of First Amendment precedent that obviously protects CBS's editorial judgment," the nonprofit said before the settlement was reported. "Any first-year law student can see this case should be thrown out at the first opportunity. It's a joke."
Bill Owens, the longtime executive producer for "60 Minutes," resigned in April over CBS's handling of Trump's lawsuit. The Long Island native said he could no longer run the show independently while the suit was pending.
"60 Minutes" host Scott Pelley praised Owens' journalistic integrity at the end of the show's episode on Sunday, April 27.
"Stories we've pursued for 57 years are often controversial, lately the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration," Pelley said. "Bill made sure they were accurate and fair. He was tough that way, but our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it."
Pelley also said Paramount began supervising the historic news magazine show's stories "in new ways."
"None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires," said Pelley. "No one here is happy about it, but in resigning, Bill proved one thing. He was the right person to lead "60 Minutes" all along."
Paramount claimed the settlement is "completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process." The company also said the agreement's terms were proposed by a mediator after two months of mediation.
The legal battle has still clouded Paramount's proposed $8 billion sale to Skydance. While Paramount's board approved the deal in 2024, the FCC needs to give it final clearance.
Brendan Carr, the Trump-appointed FCC chair, is investigating whether CBS's edits crossed the line into news distortion. Carr has also opened probes into similar Trump complaints about "bias" against ABC and NBC.
Skydance and its investors reportedly pressured Paramount to end the Trump dispute so the sale could be completed by the October deadline.
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