President Donald Trump turned down a $15 million offer to settle his lawsuit against CBS News over its editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The figure, however, did not seem to be high enough for the president, who reportedly is seeking a settlement deal of over $25 million as well as an apology from CBS News, the Journal said, citing a source familiar with the situation. Trump also has threatened to launch another lawsuit against CBS, pointing to alleged bias in its reporting, the newspaper added.
Trump sued CBS last year for $20 billion, alleging that the newsmagazine had deceptively edited its interview with Harris in October 2024 — an allegation vehemently denied by the show. Legal experts have also dubbed the case meritless.
While people within the newsroom reportedly opposed the idea of a settlement, Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, CBS’ parent company, is in favor of reaching an agreement with Trump over concerns that the dispute could block the company’s merger with Skydance, which awaits regulatory approval. Redstone reportedly has recused herself from negotiations with Trump’s team.
Three Democratic senators wrote to Redstone last week, noting that the company’s efforts to settle with Trump could run afoul of federal anti-bribery laws. That warning has been weighing on Paramount executives, who believe that a hefty settlement could expose them to other legal liability, the Journal said.
The tension over Trump’s lawsuit has already had ripple effects within CBS. Wendy McMahon, the president of the network, last week said she would be exiting CBS, writing that “it’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward.” Her announcement came about a month after Bill Owens stepped down as executive producer of “60 Minutes,” citing a loss 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 told his staff in a meeting at the time, according to The New York Times.
Any change to this approach was a “slippery slope,” he added.
Both McMahon and Owens had reportedly ruled out issuing an apology to Trump as part of a potential settlement.