Trump Turns Down $15 Million Offer To Settle ’60 Minutes’ Lawsuit: Report | EUROtoday

President Donald Trump turned down a $15 million provide to settle his lawsuit in opposition to CBS News over its enhancing of a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris within the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The determine, nevertheless, didn’t appear to be excessive sufficient for the president, who reportedly is looking for a settlement deal of over $25 million in addition to an apology from CBS News, the Journal mentioned, citing a supply aware of the state of affairs. Trump additionally has threatened to launch one other lawsuit in opposition to CBS, pointing to alleged bias in its reporting, the newspaper added.

Trump sued CBS final 12 months for $20 billion, alleging that the newsmagazine had deceptively edited its interview with Harris in October 2024 — an allegation vehemently denied by the present. Legal specialists have additionally dubbed the case meritless.

While individuals inside the newsroom reportedly opposed the thought of a settlement, Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, CBS’ father or mother firm, is in favor of reaching an settlement with Trump over issues that the dispute may block the corporate’s merger with Skydance, which awaits regulatory approval. Redstone reportedly has recused herself from negotiations with Trump’s staff.

Three Democratic senators wrote to Redstone final week, noting that the corporate’s efforts to settle with Trump may run afoul of federal anti-bribery legal guidelines. That warning has been weighing on Paramount executives, who imagine {that a} hefty settlement may expose them to different authorized legal responsibility, the Journal mentioned.

The rigidity over Trump’s lawsuit has already had ripple results inside CBS. Wendy McMahon, the president of the community, final week mentioned she can be exiting CBS, writing that “it’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward.” Her announcement got here a couple of month after Bill Owens stepped down as government producer of “60 Minutes,” citing a lack of journalistic independence.

“In a million years, the corporation didn’t know what was coming up — they trusted ‘60 Minutes’ to report the stories and program the broadcast the way ‘60 Minutes’ saw fit,” Owens instructed his employees in a gathering on the time, based on The New York Times.

Any change to this method was a “slippery slope,” he added.

Both McMahon and Owens had reportedly dominated out issuing an apology to Trump as a part of a possible settlement.