“Rewarding Trump with tens of millions of dollars for filing this bogus lawsuit will not cause him to back down on his war against the media and a free press.”
Several Democrat senators, led by Bernie Sanders, are calling on Paramount Global to reject any settlement in the ongoing lawsuit filed against the company by President Donald Trump. The lawsuit targets a “60 Minutes” interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris that aired just before the 2024 presidential election, which Trump alleges was edited in a way that interfered with the election.
“Rewarding Trump with tens of millions of dollars for filing this bogus lawsuit will not cause him to back down on his war against the media and a free press,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter, according to The Hill. “It will only embolden him to shakedown, extort and silence CBS and other media outlets that have the courage to report about issues that Trump may not like.”
The senators described the lawsuit as a “blatant attempt to intimidate the media and those who speak out against him,” and accused Trump of trying to “punish a news organization for constitutionally protected editorial judgments they do not like.” It further urged Paramount and its board to “stand up for freedom of the press and our democracy” by refusing to “capitulate to this dangerous move to authoritarianism.”
Trump’s lawsuit accuses CBS and its parent company of election interference, alleging that the “60 Minutes” segment manipulated footage of Harris’ responses to a question about Israel to benefit the Democratic Party. According to the suit, CBS aired different answers from Harris on “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation,” appearing to selectively edit her response to improve her image.
Paramount previously referred to the lawsuit as an “affront to the First Amendment and is without basis in law or fact” and said Trump is attempting to “punish a news organization for constitutionally protected editorial judgments they do not like.”
On Wednesday, Trump addressed the controversy on Truth Social, writing, “The Election Interfering 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which aired on CBS just before Election Day and deep into Early Voting, turned out to be much worse than expected, with her answers being unlawfully fixed, manipulated, and doctored throughout by CBS, in order to try and make Kamala appear at least somewhat coherent. The full transcript, which 60 Minutes, CBS, and Paramount tried to hide from the American People, and refused to release until after I was already Inaugurated, and they were ordered to do so by the Federal Communications Commission, shows that the ‘interview’ was nothing but fake, corrupt, anti-Trump propaganda.”
He also criticized the segment’s Emmy nomination, calling it a “Fake News Puff Piece,” and accused CBS and its parent company of attempting to deceive the public. “These antics are why the American People have no trust in the Press, and demand that the Media, very much including 60 Minutes, CBS, and its owners, be held responsible for their corruption and lies, which is exactly what we are doing in Court,” Trump added.
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
