5 hours ago 2

How Trump sued CBS and won: The '60 Minutes' settlement that rocked the media world, explained

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

President Donald Trump sued CBS News and its parent company, Paramount Global, in October 2024 over an interview on "60 Minutes" with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump accused the outlet of deceptive editing and election interference.

The lawsuit and its subsequent settlement have far-reaching implications and set off a fierce debate about media ethics and accountability, as well as corporate interference.

Fox News Digital breaks down exactly what happened — from the final payout to speculation as to why Paramount settled and what blowback the lawsuit has received since.

What happened:

October 8, 2024: CBS '60 Minutes' airs two different answers from former Vice President Kamala Harris to the same question | Watch

Former VP Kamala Harris was mocked by conservatives when footage of her offering a lengthy "word salad" response when asked why it seemed like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S. was aired on CBS' "Face the Nation" on a Sunday to promote a special "60 Minutes" sit-down. However, Harris' lengthy answer didn’t make the version that aired on "60 Minutes" Monday night and a shorter, more focused answer to the same question was shown instead.

Bill Whitaker and Kamala Harris. (Screenshots/CBS News)

October 18, 2024: Former FCC commissioner explains if CBS News could be in hot water over editing | Watch

The Center for American Rights argued that the discrepancies by CBS "amount to deliberate news distortion — a violation of FCC rules governing broadcasters' public interest obligations," and formally complained to the FCC. Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Nathan Simington — appointed by Trump in 2020 — said his priority was to make sure the public was not misled.

October 20, 2024: CBS breaks its silence over editing allegations

After Trump called for the network to lose its broadcasting license over the editing, CBS put out a statement saying that any accusation of deceitful editing from "60 Minutes" was "false," and that then-candidate Trump pulled out of an interview — which the Trump campaign denied. CBS also stated that, "'60 Minutes' gave an excerpt of our interview to ‘Face the Nation’ that used a longer section of her answer than that on ‘60 Minutes.' Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response."

October 31, 2024: Trump sues CBS News for $10 billion alleging 'deceptive doctoring' of Harris' '60 Minutes' interview

News broke that Trump was suing CBS News for $10 billion in damages, stating the network practiced "deceptive conduct" for the purpose of election interference in its Harris interview. The amount was later bumped to a whopping $20 billion.
Trump attorneys said the suit was filed over "CBS’ partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to confuse, deceive, and mislead the public." Trump attorneys also argued the edits were done in an effort to "attempt to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party as the heated 2024 Presidential Election — which President Trump is leading — approaches its conclusion."

February 5, 2025: FCC releases CBS News' raw '60 Minutes' transcript

Shortly after Trump was inaugurated, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) released the unedited transcript and video handed over by CBS News of its interview with Harris. The raw transcript showed CBS News had aired only the first half of her response to "60 Minutes" about Netanyahu not "listening" to the Biden administration in a preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation," but aired only the second half of her response during the primetime special.

The Donald Trump campaign released a scathing statement in response to a defiant "60 Minutes" comment about its controversial edit of its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this month, saying the show had essentially admitted to making her sound better and calling on the CBS show to release a full transcript of the interview.

President Trump's lawsuit against "60 Minutes" and CBS News over its editing of a Kamala Harris interview last year resulted in an eight-figure settlement. (Left: (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images), Center: Screenshot/60Minutes, Right: (Photo by Andy Manis/Getty Images))

April 14, 2025: Trump lashes out at CBS News and "60 Minutes"

Trump shared on Truth Social that he was "honored" to be suing "60 Minutes" over reporting he deemed "fraudulent," and said the network should "pay a big price for this." Trump then went on to say that the network "did everything possible to illegally elect Kamala, including completely and corruptly changing major answers to Interview questions, but it just didn’t work for them."

April 23, 2025: "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens abruptly quits

"60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens abruptly quit the long-running CBS News program and put out a statement that it was clear he would not be able to run the show as he had previously done. "So, having defended this show – and what we stand for – from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward," Owens said.

May 9, 2025: Paramount, CBS News' parent company, faces mounting pressure

Lawyers for Trump and Paramount entered mediation, signaling the company's potential willingness to resolve the lawsuit filed by Trump. The interview received an Emmy nomination the week prior for "Outstanding Edited Interview." Democratic lawmakers made a direct plea to Shari Redstone, Paramount's controlling shareholder, to not settle the lawsuit, saying it would be a "grave mistake."

May 29, 2025: Trump rejects Paramount's $15 million offer to settle CBS News lawsuit

Trump rejected a $15 million offer to settle the lawsuit with Paramount. The president's legal team demanded another $25 million and an apology from CBS News. Redstone had made it clear in prior months that she wanted to settle Trump's lawsuit in hopes of clearing the pathway for Paramount's multibillion-dollar planned merger with Skydance Media, which needed approval from Trump's FCC.

July 1, 2025: Paramount, CBS pay eight figures, change editorial policy in settlement | Watch

Paramount Global and CBS agreed to pay Trump a sum that could reach north of $30 million to settle the president’s lawsuit against the network. Trump received $16 million upfront. That was for covering legal fees, costs of the case, and contributions to his future presidential library or charitable causes, to be determined at Trump’s discretion.
There is anticipation that there will be another allocation in the eight figures set aside for advertisements, public service announcements or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future.

Sources shared with Fox News Digital that CBS 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."

July 7, 2025: CBS parent company sparks massive outrage with Trump lawsuit settlement

Paramount Global and CBS’ eight-figure settlement caused widespread outrage across the legal and journalism communities. Many legal experts and Paramount’s own attorneys insisted the lawsuit was meritless, but CBS’ parent company settled it anyway.
Figures under Paramount's umbrella like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Scott Pelley and John Dickerson have not been hiding their mockery and disdain throughout the process. Insiders also told Fox News Digital they were furious and felt betrayed by company executives surrendering to Trump.
In an interview with Stewart on Monday night, longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft said Paramount had essentially capitulated to a "shakedown."

CBS News signage in NYC and Donald Trump in the oval office

Paramount Global and CBS agreed to settle President Trump’s $20 billion election interference lawsuit against the network. (Al Drago/Bloomberg, Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Reactions:

Fox News' Brain Flood, Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi, Joseph Wulfsohn, Brooke Singman, Hanna Panreck, Marc Tamasco and David Rutz contributed to this report.

Read Entire Article