Freedom of the Press Foundation says it will sue Paramount if it settles with Trump over 60 Minutes lawsuit [View all]

Source: The Independent

Saturday 24 May 2025 04:46 BST


The Freedom of the Press Foundation says it intends to sue Paramount if the production company settles with Donald Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. The non-profit organization said that corporations that own news outlets “should not be in the business” of settling “baseless lawsuits that clearly violate the First Amendment and put other media outlets at risk.”

Trump sued the parent company of CBS News over a primetime election special that aired in October, shortly before the 2024 presidential election. It featured interviews with presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. The president accused the broadcaster of “unlawful and illegal behavior” in the way it had edited the interview with Harris. Trump and vice president JD Vance had declined to participate in the program.

Interviews are always edited to fit into a program’s time limits, as well as for “teaser clips” to promote an upcoming program. CBS has denied Trump’s claim that any part of Harris’ interview was “deceitfully” edited.

In a letter addressed to Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone, FPF Director of Advocacy Seth Stern compared a settlement of the “meritless” lawsuit to a bribe, saying it “may well be a thinly veiled effort to launder bribes through the court system.” Not only would it “tank CBS’s reputation but, as three U.S. senators recently explained, it could put Paramount executives at risk of breaking the law,” he wrote.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/fpf-paramount-lawsuit-trump-60-minutes-b2757059.html