Journalists Sound Alarm as CBS Eyes Settlement with Donald Trump Over “60 Minutes” Interview
Journalists, including some at CBS News, are expressing outrage and alarm at reports that CBS parent company Paramount Global is attempting to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump over an October “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. The lawsuit alleged that the network edited the interview to make Harris look better, a claim that many legal experts deemed meritless and ripe for dismissal.
The reported settlement has sparked widespread concern that it would sacrifice journalistic integrity and undermine the First Amendment, as well as potentially set a dangerous precedent for other media outlets. “Trump’s lawsuit was a joke, but if we settle, we become the laughingstock,” a CBS correspondent said anonymously. “We can’t let Trump buy a story and then get away with it. It’s not worth it.”
The suit resulted from an October “60 Minutes” interview with Harris, in which she responded to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged refusal to listen to the US. Trump and his allies claimed that the network had manipulated the interview to make Harris look better, but CBS maintained that the editing was legitimate and done to fit the time constraints of the program.
Despite the network’s robust defense, the suit was filed in US District Court in Texas, alleging violations of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. While many legal experts deemed the suit “frivolous” and “ridiculous,” the sudden change in the landscape following Trump’s election has left them concerned about the potential outcome. The merger between Paramount and Skydance Media is pending, and the Trump administration’s approval is required, potentially making a settlement more appealing to the media conglomerate.
The notion of a settlement has drawn widespread condemnation, with Sen. Bernie Sanders urging CBS to “stand tall” and Senator Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer, labeling it “a bribe.” The fear is that a payout would undermine the notion of an independent media protected by the First Amendment, and embolden Trump’s aggressive tactics towards the press. As one journalist put it, “That’s called a bribe.”
The FCC has sent a “letter of inquiry” to CBS regarding the interview, asking for the unedited transcript and tapes of the Harris interview. The network is obliged to comply with the request, but the move has sparked concerns about the potential impact on the editorial independence of the network. As the media landscape continues to grapple with the challenges of reporting in the Trump era, this development has left many wondering whether the cost of doing business in this period is worth the compromise on journalistic integrity.