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.
Sources close to the situation told Fox News Digital that CBS has agreed to update its editorial standards to install a mandatory new rule. Going forward, the network will promptly release full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews. People involved in the settlement talks have referred to this as the “Trump Rule.”
“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.
“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,” parent company Paramount said in a statement.
In his lawsuit, Trump accused the company of interfering in the 2024 presidential election after it deceitfully edited a teaser for an interview with Harris in a way that 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.
Trump confidently declared the case against CBS a “winner” in April.
“They cheated and defrauded the American People at levels never seen before in the Political Arena. Kamala Harris, during Early Voting and, immediately before Election Day, was asked a question, and gave an answer, that was so bad and incompetent that it would have cost her many of the Votes that she ended up getting,” Trump posted on Truth Social ahead of mediation, going on to accuse the newsmagazine of perpetrating a fraud on the American people.
