CBS filed a motion to dismiss President Trump's $20 billion lawsuit against a controversial “60-minute” interview with Kamala Harris, calling the lawsuit “a First Amendment humiliation without a foundation of law or fact.”
Trump argued that “60 Minutes” would “depictly edit” the interview and make his opponents appear better in the 2024 presidential election, citing “voter intervention.”
He filed a lawsuit in October, a month before winning the presidential election, pressured the Tiffany Network to release an unedited transcript and video of the former vice president to show that there was nothing unusual about the editing.
A lawyer for Paramount Global Ownership Network said in a motion to dismiss it late Thursday:
They added that Trump is asking for “punishing news organizations for constitutionally protected editorial decisions they don't like.”
“They are not only seeking $2 billion in damages, but also ordering that directs how news organizations will exercise future editorial decisions,” they wrote. “The First Amendment stands firm on these demands.”
If the case is not dismissed, the attorney asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to be transferred to the Southern District of New York, where CBS News is headquartered.
The move comes as Trump and his Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Kerr during discussions with Trump's legal team about the possibility of resolving the lawsuit in the hopes that he would allow a merger with Skydance.
Brass from “60 Minutes” investigates the issue, even if he claims that the edits are simply clear and that there was no foul play.
“This lawsuit is completely separate and unrelated to the SkyDance transaction and the FCC approval process,” said the most important global spokesman. “We will comply with legal proceedings to protect the lawsuit.”
In a statement to AxiosTrump's lawyer Ed Palzik said the president is “committed to keeping people who explain fake news, hoaxes and lies.”
“CBS and Paramount committed the worst kind of election interference and fraud on the last day of the most important presidential elections in history,” he said. “President Trump pursues this important issue to a legitimate and legitimate conclusion.”
