Paramount Global and Trump in Settlement Negotiations

Paramount Global and former President Donald Trump are currently involved in what they describe as “honest, advanced, settlement negotiations” to settle a lawsuit that Trump filed against CBS last October. This lawsuit alleges that CBS manipulated a “60 Minutes” interview featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

On Monday, attorneys requested a Texas judge to postpone all related cases until Thursday, according to court filings. Trump is aiming for a hefty $20 billion settlement, although a mediator has suggested a much lower figure of $20 million, as reported by the Wall Street Journal last week. Paramount has previously dismissed the lawsuit as “completely meritless” and urged the judge to dismiss it entirely.

Attempts to reach Trump’s attorney, Edward Palzik, for comments were unsuccessful. Similarly, representatives from Paramount Global, including a spokesman for Shari Redstone, the company’s controlling shareholder, could not be contacted.

Meanwhile, CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an $8.4 billion merger with SkyDance Media. FCC Chairman Brendan Kerr, appointed by Trump on January 20, noted last week that the review of the merger is still ongoing. Notably, the FCC did not conclude its review by the unofficial 180-day deadline that passed in mid-May.

Trump has contended that CBS aired differing versions of Harris’s answers to questions, alleging that the network would skew coverage to favor Democrats. CBS, however, has refuted these claims of fraud.

In January, Kerr rekindled scrutiny over Harris’s “60 Minutes” interview, prompting CBS to push back against the complaints, stating there was nothing inappropriate, and arguing that the complaint aimed to transform the FCC into an outfit focused on content oversight.