Overview

• Paramount agreed on July 2 to pay $16 million—covering Trump’s legal fees and funding his future presidential library—to settle his deceptive-editing lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
• Under the settlement, CBS News will release full transcripts of all future presidential candidate interviews but will not issue an apology or admit wrongdoing.
• Executives cited the need to avoid unpredictable legal costs and smooth approval of Paramount’s $8 billion-plus Skydance Media merger under FCC scrutiny.
• CBS News staffers and press freedom advocates denounced the deal as a breach of editorial independence, with some producers resigning in protest.
• Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden have warned the payment could amount to bribery and are pushing for federal investigations as the FCC continues its merger review.