Famed ex-'60 Minutes' producer says CBS’ Trump settlement will create 'unacceptable' fear for reporters

Award-winning journalist Lowell Bergman believes Paramount Global and CBS’ eight-figure settlement with President Donald Trump will spark "unacceptable" fear for "60 Minutes" reporters going forward. 

Bergman, a longtime producer for CBS’ "60 Minutes" whose investigation of the tobacco industry was dramatized in the 1999 movie, "The Insider," appeared on "The Daily" New York Times podcast to offer his take on Paramount Global and CBS settling with Trump. 

Bergman was played by Al Pacino in the film, which was based on the true story of CBS legal counsel attempting to shut down his tobacco industry report to appease corporate interests. Bergman said last week’s decision by Paramount to settle Trump’s "election interference" lawsuit makes current CBS issues even worse. 

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Al Pacino starred as former "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman in "The Insider."

"It’s nonsense, it’s done to intimidate," Bergman said of Trump’s $20 billion election interference lawsuit against the network. 

The lawsuit alleged CBS News deceitfully edited a "60 Minutes" interview last year with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in order to make her appear more articulate ahead of Election Day. Many legal experts and Paramount’s own attorneys insisted the lawsuit was meritless, but CBS’ parent company settled it anyway. Paramount's controlling shareholder Shari Redstone reportedly pushed for the settlement in hopes of paving the way for Trump’s FCC to approve a long-planned, lucrative merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

"It’s not like a case involving tobacco, and the pressure that was coming down... this is the President of the United States, this is without precedent in the history of this country," Bergman told "The Daily." 

Bergman said the settlement was explained by Paramount Global and CBS in a way to make it appear like a "minor thing," when he believes it could actually have major ramifications. 

"Anyone working at ’60 Minutes’ from now on has to worry about what is going to be allowed on the air, at a level that is, how should I put it? Not acceptable," Bergman told the podcast.

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"The Insider" featured Philip Baker Hall playing "60 Minutes" executive producer Don Hewitt, Al Pacino playing producer Lowell Bergman and Christopher Plummer playing Mike Wallace. 

Bergman is hopeful "60 Minutes" can regain credibility but feels producers and journalists could be hesitant to cause any controversy. 

"And if the new owners who are coming in, who are going to buy, do not have a long tradition of being in the news business or being respectful of the traditions that it represents, we’re at a really grim moment when absurd lawsuits and huge amounts of money come together to damage the public interest," Bergman said. 

"So, I would say," he continued. "You gotta be a little bit depressed about what the future holds."  

Fox News Digital has learned that the sum being paid to Trump could reach north of $30 million, with $16 million being paid upfront for his future presidential library, in addition to another eight-figure allocation set aside for advertisements, public service announcements or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future. 

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Award-winning journalist Lowell Bergman at the 56th San Francisco International Film Festival in 2013. 

Current Paramount management disputes the additional allocation, and a source familiar with Paramount's current leadership told Fox News Digital only $16 million was sanctioned by the official mediator, and they have no knowledge of any deal Trump made on the side. 

CBS also agreed to update its editorial standards by mandating the release of full, unedited transcripts of interviews with future presidential candidates.

Paramount has defended the settlement. 

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"Companies often settle litigation to avoid the high and somewhat unpredictable costs of legal defense, the risk of an adverse judgment that could result in significant financial or reputational damage, and the disruption to business operations that prolonged legal battles can cause. Settlement offers a negotiated resolution that allows companies to focus on their core objectives rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction," a Paramount spokesperson told Fox News Digital.