Paramount Global and CBS News have settled a lawsuit filed by President Trump, which alleged that the network deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make her appear more polished as a candidate.
Trump’s lawsuit, filed last October, had claimed the network’s actions amounted to election interference. He rejected an offer back in May to settle the case for $15 million. And it’s a good thing he did so.
Details of the settlement have been made public. They are thoroughly humiliating for CBS.
The agreement involves two separate payments, the first of which is $16 million—an amount exceeding both the network’s initial offer and the payment ABC had to shell out to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump back in December after George Stephanopoulos falsely accused him of rape.
It pays to call out the fake news on their BS.
It gets worse for CBS and Paramount. The settlement includes an anticipated subsequent payment that has yet to be finalized, but according to reports, would also be in eight-figure territory, bringing the total amount to over $30 million.
Not only that, the money from this settlement is to be used in part to fund Trump’s future presidential library and promote conservative causes. The network is also adopting what has been called a “Trump Rule” to modify its operating procedures when conducting interviews with future presidential candidates.
Devastating all around.
BREAKING: Paramount, CBS’s parent, to pay $16M in settlement over Trump’s lawsuit alleging edited 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview. pic.twitter.com/QFg4jPjBnh
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 2, 2025
’60 Minutes’ Finally Makes a Statement on the Harris Interview Scandal, Gets Roasted in Response
The upfront payment of $16 million, according to Fox News, will “cover legal fees, costs of the case, and contributions to his future presidential library or charitable causes, to be determined at Trump’s discretion.”
The subsequent amount will go towards “advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future.”
CBS will now help construct a library that will memorialize Trump’s presidency for the foreseeable future. And, they’ll be running conservative content on their airwaves.
Fox also reports that the network will implement a mandatory rule to release complete, unedited transcripts for interviews with presidential candidates, a measure referred to as the “Trump Rule” by sources involved in the settlement.
I mean, this is one step away from forcing anchors to get Trump’s face tattooed on their nether regions live on air. All because they tried their absolute best to cover up the fact that Harris is a word salad connoisseur.
For those who don’t recall, RedState’s Sister Toldjah spotted the clip that showed just how much editing had to be done to present Harris’s answer to a question on Israel as actual English, and what the network actually showed their audience.
Remember Kamala’s word salad answer about Israel on 60 Minutes? It’s gone.
This is what many Americans will now see. pic.twitter.com/H4w7btDv6x
— MAZE (@mazemoore) October 8, 2024
Naturally, Team Trump was thrilled with the settlement, as made clear in a statement issued by his legal team to Fox News Digital.
“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,” they wrote.
“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.”
Paramount, meanwhile, tried to save face by issuing its own statement.
“The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret,” they said, searching for a silver lining, while also noting that none of the money is to be paid directly to the president.
Whatever helps you sleep at night.
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