A group of senators led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is urging media conglomerate Paramount Global to not settle a lawsuit brought against it by President Trump.
Trump’s suit, which is in connection with a “60 Minutes” segment featuring an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, serves as a “blatant attempt to intimidate the media and those who speak out against him,” the senators wrote in a letter first reported by Semafor and obtained by The Hill.
“Rewarding Trump with tens of millions of dollars for filing this bogus lawsuit will not cause him
to back down on his war against the media and a free press,” the lawmakers wrote. “It will only embolden him to shakedown, extort and silence CBS and other media outlets that have the courage to report about issues that Trump may not like.”
Lawyers for Paramount and the president reportedly began settlement talks last week, a development that has roiled staffers at CBS News and led to widespread concern the company is trying to curry favor with the administration.
Paramount, had previously said the president’s lawsuit was an “affront to the First Amendment and is without basis in law or fact,” and that he is trying to “punish a news organization for constitutionally protected editorial judgments they do not like.”
Paramount is currently trying to push through a mega merger with film giant Skydance, a deal worth billions that will need approval from Trump regulators.
The saga led to the resignation of a top “60 Minutes” producer last week, even while the program has continued its probing coverage of the Trump administration.
Last month, Trump said CBS “should lose their license” after “60 Minutes” segments on Ukraine and Greenland.
“We urge you and the board of directors at Paramount to make it clear to President Trump today that Paramount will not surrender to his attack on the First Amendment,” the senators wrote. “Stand up for freedom of the press and our democracy. Do not capitulate to this dangerous move to authoritarianism.”
