By In a consequential resolution with sweeping implications for press accountability, Paramount Global and CBS have agreed to a settlement exceeding $30 million to end a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump. At issue was a 2024 “60 Minutes” interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris—an interview Trump’s legal team claimed was deceptively edited to shield Harris during the final days of the presidential campaign. Finalized on July 1, 2025, the agreement includes an immediate $16 million payment covering legal fees, case expenses, and contributions to Trump’s future presidential library or charitable initiatives, subject entirely to his discretion.
The case originated from Trump’s $20 billion suit against CBS, alleging election interference. The complaint pointed to an October 2024 segment in which CBS previewed a “word salad” clip of Harris responding to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That clip, shown on Face the Nation, was juxtaposed with a more coherent version aired during primetime—both derived from the same exchange. Trump’s legal team argued this editorial sleight-of-hand was a deliberate act of campaign favoritism, crafted to blunt criticism and fortify Harris’s candidacy.
“With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit. CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic 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 on his singular mission to Make America Great Again,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital.
Beyond the monetary terms, the settlement imposes structural changes on CBS. The most significant is a policy now dubbed the “Trump Rule,” requiring the release of full, unedited transcripts for all future interviews with presidential candidates. Though largely symbolic, the rule could alter how major networks handle political coverage in the 2026 and 2028 cycles. The agreement also reportedly sets aside an eight-figure sum for ads or public service announcements promoting conservative causes—a provision Paramount’s current leadership disputes.
The episode began with mounting criticism of CBS for the split airing of Harris’s Netanyahu response. An FCC inquiry, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, found that both segments originated from the same interview but were edited and deployed across separate broadcasts. While CBS maintains it committed no journalistic wrongdoing, the optics—particularly during an election—fueled accusations of editorial bias. Paramount’s official statement attempted to draw a line under the matter: “The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement, including the Texas action and the threatened defamation action.”
Some speculated that the company likely settled not because they thought the report was wrong, but because discovery in the case would prove disastrous for the network, especially if reporters had their emails made public.
This happened because 60 minutes refused to release an unedited transcript.
Now ask why. https://t.co/7XcQEo5sWm
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 2, 2025
This is why Paramount and CBS settled I. 2025 https://t.co/4Ef4KPLzHU
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 2, 2025
Internally, the fallout has been destabilizing. CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon resigned in May, citing strategic disagreements with the network’s leadership. “It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” she wrote in a memo to staff. Her departure followed that of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, who left in April after expressing frustration over shrinking editorial independence. Several prominent
The timing of the agreement is not without intrigue. Paramount is preparing for a multi-billion-dollar merger with Skydance Media, a deal requiring FCC approval. Though the company insists, “This lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process,” speculation lingers that the settlement was, at least in part, an effort to preempt regulatory pushback from Trump-appointed officials.
This settlement eclipses the $15 million defamation deal Trump secured from ABC in late 2024, highlighting the former president’s increasingly aggressive posture toward major news networks and the networks being held accountable for their bias and deceptive editing.
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