CBS owner considers settling Trump suit over Kamala Harris 60 Minutes interview ahead of merger review: report
Paramount Global executives have held internal talks about settling a lawsuit filed by President-elect Donald Trump over CBS News’ interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a report.Paramount, the parent company of CBS, is hoping to close its planned merger with Skydance Media in the coming months but has been sued by Trump for allegedly favorably editing the “60 Minutes” sit-down with Harris just before the election In recent months, it has become clear that Trump’s dissatisfaction with CBS News is proving to be a major hurdle, and it will likely need to pony up concessions to win approval, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.The Post had previously reported that the deal will likely remain in regulatory purgatory for the foreseeable future under Trump-nominated FCC chair Brendan Carr, unless it satisfies certain “fairness” conditions that will be demanded by Trump’s FCC.The FCC has authority over the deal because it would involve the transfer of broadcast TV licenses held by local CBS-owned stations.The Journal said there was no indication that Paramount had approached Trump’s team about a settlement, but executives at the company were gaming out options to reduce friction with the incoming administration in order to facilitate the merger.A rep for Trump did not immediately comment on whether Paramount had contacted the President-elect’s team.One source told The Post that the talks have been described as “informal,” meaning there have been no presentations or formal plans devised.Reps for Paramount and Skydance did not comment.At issue is Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, which alleges that the network committed election interference by editing portions of the “60 Minutes” interview with Harris to eliminate a “word salad” answer about the Israel-Hamas war.Trump claimed CBS aired one version of the interview on “60 Minutes” and another version on its show “Face the Nation,” each containing differen...