Three Senate liberals are questioning Paramount Global, parent company of CBS News, about its reported efforts to settle a $20 billion lawsuit with President Donald Trump, raising concerns about the appearance of bribery, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, sent a letter to Paramount Chair Shari Redstone amid reports that the company is angling toward settling the lawsuit with Trump, according to the Journal.
At issue for the senators is whether Paramount is settling in order to grease the skids on its merger with Skydance Media. The lawmakers wrote that Paramount “may be engaging in improper conduct involving the Trump Administration in exchange for approval of its merger with Skydance Media,” the Journal reported.
Trump first filed the lawsuit in October for $10 billion in damages over a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that Trump claimed was “doctored” and deceitfully edited to make Harris sound better. Trump upped his claim for damages to $20 billion in an amended complaint in February.
In April, the Paramount board reportedly had outlined financial terms it found acceptable to settle the lawsuit. Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, recused herself from the settlement negotiations, according to the report.
Subsequently, nine senators, including Sanders and Warren, urged Redstone on May 6 not to settle. They said it would be a “grave mistake” to give Trump billions over a “bogus lawsuit.”
Sanders on Monday again took aim at Redstone after news broke that CBS News chief Wendy McMahon resigned amid tension over the impending settlement. The Journal reported that Paramount wanted McMahon to sign off on an apology for the edited Harris interview as part of the settlement, which she refused to do.
“I say to Shari Redstone: Enough is enough. Do not capitulate to Trump’s attack on a free press. Do not settle Trump’s bogus lawsuit against 60 Minutes,” Sanders said in Monday’s post to X.
However, the lawsuit has become a potential roadblock for Paramount’s merger with Skydance, which would need the approval of the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, according to the Journal.
In their latest letter, the senators asked Redstone if content changes to “60 Minutes” were requested by Paramount execs and whether concessions to Trump were discussed in order to secure merger approval, the Journal reported.
Internal discussions at Paramount have broached the appearance of bribery if they were to settle with Trump, the Journal previously reported.
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