Will CBS News' parent company settle Trump’s ‘frivolous’ 60 Minutes lawsuit to secure huge merger?

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, is currently in discussions with Donald Trump’s legal team about settling the president’s $10 billion lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview that the network says is “completely without merit,” and legal experts have labeled “frivolous and dangerous.” The possibility of a settlement, first reported by The New York Times, comes as Paramount looks to complete a merger with Skydance Media. That settlement prompted First Amendment and press organizations to warn about the “chilling effect” Trump could have on the free press, adding that “there is concern that we are embarking on some scary times.” open image in gallery Former US president Donald Trump speaks to members of the media following his presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris Earlier this week, Facebook’s parent company Meta revealed that it agreed to pay Trump $25 million to settle his complaint over the social media platform banning him following the Jan. 6 insurrection. In his Status News newsletter, Oliver Darcy reported that CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens “have made it crystal clear that they oppose any settlement with the Trump team and do not wish to cave on this front.” In his lawsuit, which was filed in Texas to test the state’s law on false advertising, Trump accused 60 Minutes of “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference” intended to “mislead the public and attempt to tip the scales” of the presidential election in Harris’s favor. “To paper over Kamala's ‘word salad’ weakness, CBS used its national platform on 60 Minutes to cross the line from the exercise of judgment in reporting to deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news,” Trump’s lawsuit alleged.