Paramount Settles Trump "60 Minutes" Lawsuit With $16-M Payout

CBS News parent company Paramount Global has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes segment aired last fall, Brian Stelter and Liam Reilly reported for CNN.

Insiders say Paramount’s corporate priorities took precedence, as the company seeks regulatory approval for a high-stakes merger with Skydance Media. I Photo: National Museum of American History Flickr

The settlement, which legal experts have called “frivolous and dangerous,” follows a similar payout structure to the $20 million deal between Trump and Disney-owned ABC last December.

Paramount said the $16 million covers “plaintiffs’ fees and costs” and will be allocated to Trump’s future presidential library.

Press freedom groups denounced the move. “Everyone knows the case isn’t worth $20 million—or even 20 cents—in legal merit,” said the Freedom of the Press Foundation, calling the case “beyond frivolous.”

Paramount emphasized that the deal does not include an apology and that 60 Minutes will, going forward, release interview transcripts with eligible presidential candidates after airing, with redactions as needed for legal or national security reasons.

While legal experts believed CBS would have prevailed in court, insiders say Paramount’s corporate priorities took precedence, as the company seeks regulatory approval for a high-stakes merger with Skydance Media—approval that requires sign-off from Trump’s administration due to CBS’s government-licensed local stations.