Paramount Settles Trump Lawsuit, Aids Skydance Merger

Paramount Global, parent company of CBS News, has agreed to pay $16 million to settle Donald Trump’s lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which Trump alleged was deceptively edited to favor Democrats specifically regarding Harris' responses about Israel and Gaza. CBS denied any manipulation, stating the edits were for time constraints. The settlement, which includes no apology and directs funds to Trump’s presidential library, comes as Paramount seeks regulatory approval for its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media—a deal previously delayed partly due to the lawsuit and FCC scrutiny. As part of the agreement, CBS will release full transcripts of future presidential candidate interviews, a new policy dubbed the 'Trump Rule.' The move has faced internal backlash at CBS, with staff arguing that editing for broadcast is standard. The settlement is intended to remove legal barriers to the merger, though the FCC may still review related issues.