“60 Minutes” aired a segment on Sunday evening scrutinizing President Trump’s attacking of a number of top law firms he feels have wrong him or resisted his agenda as its parent company wades through its own legal saga with the president.
Trump last year sued Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, over an interview it aired with former Vice President Harris he argues was edited to cast her in a positive light.
Paramount executives are reportedly eager to settle the suit, a development that has roiled staffers at the network and led to the resignation of top “60 Minutes” producer Bill Owens.
On Sunday, the show aired a story featuring interviews with a number of prominent attorneys who were sharply critical of the president over an executive order targeting firms he says have wronged him.
Two firms have asked a judge for decisive relief from Trump’s executive orders, with the judge ruling it is unconstitutional for Trump to target firm Perkins Coie late Friday.
Last week, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, who also reported on Trump’s attacks on the law firms, called out Paramount over rumors of a potential settlement between the two sides.
“It was nearly impossible to get anyone on camera for this story because of the fear now running through our system of justice,” Pelley said as he opened Sunday’s segment. “In recent weeks, President Trump has signed orders against several law firms orders with the power to destroy them. That matters because lawsuits have been a check on the president’s power.”
In the piece, Marc Elias, a prominent attorney who Trump has called out by name, told Pelley “I’d be an idiot not to be worried.”
“The question though is what do you do? Right, do you just cower in the corner? Do you just try to disappear? Do you just leave democracy to fend for itself?” he asked. “Or do you stand tall and do the best you can every day to represent your clients and try to preserve the rule of law?”
