Paramount Settles Trump's 60 Minutes Lawsuit
Paramount paid $16 million to settle Trump's lawsuit over CBS's editorial decisions in a 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview — establishing the precedent that media companies could be financially punished for exercising editorial judgment.
Background
In October 2024, CBS’s “60 Minutes” aired an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. A shorter excerpt of her answer about Israeli PM Netanyahu was broadcast compared to a longer version shown on “Face the Nation.” Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit claiming CBS tried to mislead voters.
The Settlement
On July 2, 2025, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million. An unspecified amount covered Trump’s legal fees; the balance went toward Trump’s future presidential library. Under the settlement, 60 Minutes agreed to release transcripts of future presidential candidate interviews.
Why It Matters
The Knight First Amendment Institute called the settlement a “curtain call for the First Amendment.” The settlement established that:
- A president could sue a news organization for editorial decisions and extract payment
- The payment could fund the president’s personal projects (a presidential library)
- The news organization would agree to constraints on future editorial practice
The timing was also significant: the FCC approved the Paramount-Skydance merger just three weeks later, on July 24.