Paramount Settles ’60 Minutes’ Lawsuit With Trump, Will Pay President $16M

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
CBS parent company Paramount announced on Tuesday that it would pay President Donald Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit against the company over a 2024 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The $16 million “includes Mr. Trump’s legal fees and costs and that the money, minus the legal fees, will be paid to Mr. Trump’s future presidential library,” according to a Paramount statement obtained by the New York Times,
Paramount will also “release transcripts of ’60 Minutes’ interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns,” according to the Times, which reported that the settlement would not include an apology to Trump.
While Paramount will pay at least $16 million as part of the settlement, Fox News reported that the total amount of money “could reach north of $30 million” in total.
“There is an expectation that there will be another allocation in the mid-eight figures set aside for advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network,” according to the network.
In his lawsuit, Trump accused the company of interfering in the 2024 presidential election after it edited a teaser for an interview with Harris in a way which made it look as though the then-vice president had given a different answer to a question.
In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s team had rejected a $15 million settlement offer and wanted “more than $25 million,” along with an apology from the company.