60 Minutes: Paramount Yields to Trump's Lawsuit
Paramount agrees to pay Trump $1.4T.16 million in lawsuit over Harris interview on 60 Minutes, in a controversial case.
Photo by Hannah Wernecke via Unsplash
Entertainment company Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed against it by President Donald Trump. The lawsuit challenged the way CBS News, a Paramount subsidiary, edited his “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris participated in the CBS “60 Minutes” interview as part of her presidential campaign last October. President Trump was offered the opportunity to participate in his own “60 Minutes” interview, but he declined.
The Harris interview generated concern in various media outlets, primarily due to the fact that CBS published two clips of the video in which the candidate gives two different answers to the same question. CBS explained that it extracted two clips of the same question, but both corresponded to a single long answer from Harris.
President Trump's legal team claimed that the editing of the interview caused him "mental anguish." Paramount's legal team previously maintained that the president's lawsuit "has no merit" and expressed interest in further discussions. However, Paramount co-chairman George Cheeks announced that the company was settling the lawsuit:
“An agreement allows a company to focus on its goals instead of getting caught up in uncertainty and distractions.”
The Trump Rule: The Legacy of 60 Minutes
As part of this agreement, CBS News agreed to publish previously unedited transcripts of all of its “60 Minutes” interviews with presidential candidates in the future. Sources at CBS told Fox News This rule has the internal name "the Trump Rule." Trump's legal team also shared the following message with Fox News:
“With this historic settlement, President Donald J. Trump achieves another victory for the American people by once again holding the Fake News media accountable for their misconduct and deceptions. CBS and Paramount Global recognized the strength of this unprecedented 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 his unwavering mission to “Make America Great Again.”
This legal agreement has troubling implications for the fundamental rights of journalistic organizations. Many of the "60 Minutes" team responsible for editing and preparing the interview signed a letter to Paramount imploring them not to enter into a deal with Trump:
“If our parent company caves in to pressure and lies, it will leave a shameful stain and undermine the First Amendment.”
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right of the press to publish truthful information without consequences.
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