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CBS parent company sparks massive outrage with Trump lawsuit settlement
Paramount Global and CBS’ eight-figure settlement to President Donald Trump has caused widespread outrage across the legal and journalism communities.
Paramount Global and CBS agreed on Tuesday to settle Trump’s $20 billion election interference lawsuit against the network. The lawsuit alleged CBS News deceitfully edited a "60 Minutes" interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in order to make her appear more articulate ahead of Election Day.
Many legal experts and Paramount’s own attorneys insisted the lawsuit was meritless, but CBS’ parent company settled it anyway. It is widely believed that Paramount's controlling shareholder Shari Redstone pushed for the settlement in hopes of paving the way for Trump’s FCC to approve a long-planned merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
CBS staffers are furious and there has been extensive backlash from media watchdogs, journalism advocacy groups, liberal journalists and even Democratic lawmakers.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., issued a scathing statement that said the settlement sets an "extremely dangerous precedent in terms of both the First Amendment and government extortion," while Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., accused Paramount of taking a "bribe" and threatened future federal charges.
Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta said Paramount "paid a shameful bribe to the President of the United States in order to grease the skids for a media deal that, and there really is no other way to put this, stinks to high heaven."
The American Civil Liberties Union believes Paramount and CBS "disgraced themselves" with the decision.
"President Trump's lawsuit was frivolous. Paramount's capitulation was craven. We've never been more in need of a free and independent press as a check on abuses of power. Instead, Paramount and CBS have disgraced themselves and betrayed the core values of journalism," ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project director Ben Wizner said in a statement.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation called the settlement a "dark day" for press freedom.
"Paramount’s spineless decision to settle Trump’s baseless and patently unconstitutional lawsuit is an insult to the journalists of ‘60 Minutes’ and an invitation to Trump to continue targeting other news outlets. Each time a company cowers and surrenders to Trump’s demands it only emboldens him to do it again," FPF director of advocacy Seth Stern wrote.
"It will be remembered as one of the most shameful capitulations by the press to a president in history," Stern continued. "But we are not done fighting."
The FPF is a Paramount Global shareholder, and Stern is ready to make his voice heard.
"We’ve already filed a shareholder information demand and are sending a second demand today to uncover information about this decision. With that information, we will continue to pursue our legal options to stop this affront to Paramount shareholders, CBS journalists, and the First Amendment. Paramount directors should be held accountable and we will do all we can to make that happen," Stern wrote.
Famed First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, who represented The New York Times during the Pentagon Papers case, told the FPF that Paramount’s decision to settle "is an ominous blow to press freedom in our nation."
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a First Amendment advocacy organization, isn’t pleased with CBS News’ parent company, either.
"Paramount may have closed this case, but it opened the door to the idea that the government should be the media’s editor-in-chief. Trump has a long history of filing frivolous lawsuits to intimidate critics, and his targets have a long history of capitulating to avoid legal headaches. And here, he had the added tactic of using the FCC and its review of the multi-billion-dollar Paramount-Skydance merger to bring added pressure to bear," FIRE Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere said.
"Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated," Corn-Revere continued. "This settlement will only embolden the president to continue his flurry of baseless lawsuits against the press — and against the American people’s ability to hear the news free from government intrusion."
BERNIE SANDERS BLASTS PARAMOUNT, SAYS LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT WILL FURTHER EMBOLDEN TRUMP TO ATTACK MEDIA
PEN America, a group that bills itself as standing "at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide," suggested CBS isn't protecting it's journalists.
"Paramount’s decision to settle a meritless lawsuit rather than stand behind its journalists at CBS News is a spineless capitulation," PEN America director Tim Richardson said.
"This was a moment to defend press freedom and support reporters targeted by a frivolous legal attack," Richardson added. "Instead, Paramount chose appeasement to bolster its finances, sending a dangerous message that media outlets can be pressured into submission if corporate parents find their profits at risk from government action in unrelated areas."
Richardson noted ABC also settled a defamation lawsuit in December with then-President-elect Trump for $15 million, after anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly and incorrectly asserted Trump had been found "liable for rape" in a civil trial last year. ABC additionally paid $1 million for President Trump’s legal fees.
"With two major network owners bowing to the president in quick succession, the danger is clear: emboldened politicians and powerful actors will feel more free than ever to weaponize lawsuits and bring regulatory pressure to bear to silence and censor independent journalism," Richardson said.
Heritage Foundation Media Fellow Tim Young sees it differently and is "glad" they settled but doesn’t feel it will change the way news organizations cover Trump and other public figures they don’t align with.
"This is one of the few times the media has been held accountable. They definitely wouldn’t have settled had Trump not won the election, because Kamala, who they lied to make look good, would have protected them," Young told Fox News Digital.
"I’d love to believe that this is a turning point in media accountability, but it won’t be," Young continued. "When you see the dramatic differences in coverage and continuous lies, legacy media networks are showing that they will continue this dishonest behavior."
Paramount has defended the settlement.
"Companies often settle litigation to avoid the high and somewhat unpredictable costs of legal defense, the risk of an adverse judgment that could result in significant financial or reputational damage, and the disruption to business operations that prolonged legal battles can cause. Settlement offers a negotiated resolution that allows companies to focus on their core objectives rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction," a Paramount spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital has learned that the sum being paid to Trump could reach north of $30 million, with $16 million being paid upfront for his future presidential library, in addition to another eight-figure allocation set aside for advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future.
Current Paramount management disputes the additional allocation, and a source familiar with Paramount's current leadership told Fox New Digital only $16 million was sanctioned by the official mediator, and they have no knowledge of any deal Trump made with incoming owner, Skydance Media. However, the incoming ownership will be responsible for the additional allocation.
Redstone recused herself from settlement negotiations in February.
As part of the agreement, CBS News did not admit to any wrongdoing nor issue an apology. The network did agree to update its editorial standards by mandating the release of full, unedited transcripts of interviews with future presidential candidates.
Trump’s legal team took a victory lap after the settlement was announced.
"With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit. CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle. President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People as he continues on his singular mission to Make America Great Again," a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
