Donald Trump Says He’s Asking For “A Lot” To Settle CBS ’60 Minutes’ Lawsuit
Donald Trump said that his legal team was asking for “a lot” of money to settle his $20 billion lawsuit against CBS over the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris in advance of the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking to reporters in a marathon session as he held his first cabinet meeting, Trump also was vague on the question of whether such a settlement would be linked to an FCC inquiry into the network over the editing of the interview, as well as the agency’s review of Paramount Global’s proposed acquisition by Skydance.
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“I don’t think it’s linked, but probably the lawyers look at it, because I know it is going along,” Trump told reporters. “The FCC is headed by a very competent person.”
Trump was referring to Brendan Carr, who he appointed to chair the agency. Carr has launched investigations into other media entities, including PBS and NPR over their sponsor messages for underwriters, and Comcast over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
But Trump’s attacks on CBS — combined with the FCC’s regulatory oversight — have drawn the most attention.
Trump’s lawsuit has been dismissed by a number of legal experts, as well as the National Association of Broadcasters, as frivolous.
An amended lawsuit filed earlier this month claims that CBS violated Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act as well as the Lanham Act. The source of the complaint is that, in an interview with Kamala Harris that ran in October, she was shown giving different answers to the same question in a Face the Nation promo and then on the 60 Minutes broadcast itself.
CBS News said that 60 Minutes was not being deceptive, and noted that the editing was commonplace across the news business, given the time constraints.
In response to the FCC inquiry, the network released a transcript and unedited video footage of the interview.
At one point in the interview, correspondent Bill Whitaker asked Harris why Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not listening to the Biden administration.
Harris answered, “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.”
In a Face the Nation promo for the interview, Harris was shown giving the first sentence in her answer. On 60 Minutes, she was shown answering with the last sentence.
But Trump has continued to claim that the network was trying to influence the election by making Harris sound more coherent, even though both of her answers were in the public realm.
In his initial lawsuit, Trump claimed that the interview was harming his electoral prospects. But given that he won the election, his attorneys filed an amended complaint earlier this month, now claiming that the interview cost his social media platform, Truth Social, web traffic.
In court documents, CBS and Trump’s legal team have confirmed that they are in settlement talks. Even with Trump’s questionable claims, though, CBS parent Paramount Global is seeking the Trump administration’s greenlight for the merger transaction. The idea that Paramount Global would essentially pay off Trump to try to get in his good graces — and get a merger through — has rattled the news division. According to The Wall Street Journal, concerns also have been raised that the Paramount Global board could be open to accusations of bribery.
At the cabinet meeting, when Trump was asked what dollar figure was discussed as part of the settlement, he said, “I think it’s a lot.” Others in the room laughed, and some clapping was heard.
Trump said that the 60 Minutes piece “probably did affect the election because we won by a lot — too big to rig — but it probably did affect the election. Probably could have won by more. I could have lost the election because of that.”
Trump declined to participate in the 60 Minutes broadcast, an election special that aired on Oct. 7.
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