Paramount Global and former President Donald Trump are in the midst of “good faith, advanced, settlement negotiations” to resolve a lawsuit Trump filed against CBS. The lawsuit, initiated in October, accuses the network of deceptively editing a “60 Minutes” interview with then-vice president Kamala Harris.
On Monday, attorneys filed a request in a Texas court to postpone all proceedings until Thursday. Trump initially sought $20 billion, but a mediator recently suggested a $20 million settlement, the Wall Street Journal reported. Paramount, which owns CBS, has previously described the lawsuit as “completely without merit” and requested its dismissal by the court.
Efforts to reach Edward Paltzik, Trump’s lawyer, were unsuccessful. Similarly, representatives for Paramount Global and its controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, were also not immediately available for comment.
CBS-parent Paramount Global is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for its $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who was named chair by Trump on Jan 20, said last week the commission was continuing to review the transaction. The FCC did not make a decision by the 180-day informal deadline in mid-May.
Trump contended CBS sought to “tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party” and the former vice president in the election by airing two different versions of answers Harris gave to a question, while CBS denied any wrongdoing.
In January, Carr reinstated a complaint about the “60 Minutes” Harris interview. CBS has urged Carr to dismiss the complaint, saying it did nothing wrong and that the complaint aims to turn “the FCC into a full-time censor of content.”
