News President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing in ceremony for interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images) Trump Slaps Down CBS News Lawsuit Settlement Offer - He Wants More Than Money By Jack Davis May 29, 2025 at 10:27am Kamala Harris, alleging election interference through highly selective editing of Harris during the broadcast. Trump’s legal team has rejected the offer from Paramount Global, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited sources it did not name. Advertisement - story continues below Trump is seeking at least $25 million and an apology from CBS News, the Journal reported. The Journal wrote that Trump is considering another lawsuit against CBS concerning news bias. RELATED NEWS: Teen Acquitted of Mom's Murder Two Years AfterAllegedly Killing His Father The lawsuit is an impediment as Paramount seeks to merge with Skydance Media, while it has also been a bone of contention at CBS News, where the departure of CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon has been linked to what has been reported as her refusal to issue an apology to Trump. In December, Disney settled a lawsuit from Trump by putting $15 million towards Trump’s presidential library. Advertisement - story continues below The lawsuit came after ABC’s George Stephanopoulos incorrectly claimed Trump was found guilty in a civil suit of rape. Meta paid out $25 million to settle a suit after banning Trump in 2021; X paid about $10 million in a similar suit. In his column in the New York Post, Charles Gasparino wrote that Shari Redstone, Paramount’s top shareholder, wants to settle the lawsuit and pay Trump up to $50 million. Will Trump eventually get what he wants from Paramount? Yes No Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge via email. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. One possible hitch is that paying out such a large sum could be construed as bribery, with the Skydance merger before the Federal Communications Commission, Gasparino wrote. “This lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process,” a Paramount representative said in a statement. “We will abide by the legal process to defend our case.” Gasparino wrote, “Redstone’s decision is said to be imminent.” Advertisement - story continues below As Paramount weighs its options, Trump’s legal team has fired back against a filing from CBS to have Trump’s lawsuit dismissed, according to Variety. Part of Trump’s argument is that CBS damaged Truth Social’s parent company Trump Media & Technology Group. Related: CBS News CEO Is Out Amid Company's Legal Battle with Trump In its editing of the Harris interview, CBS’s “conduct, including news distortion, constituted commercial speech which cannot by any reasonable interpretation be found to have constituted editorial judgment, and that speech damaged Plaintiffs,” Trump’s filing said. “The fact that such commercial speech was issued by a news organization does not insulate Defendants from liability under the First Amendment,” the filing continued, adding, “[T]he First Amendment is no shield to news distortion.” Advertisement - story continues below The filing said the actions of CBS “led to widespread confusion and mental anguish of consumers, including Plaintiffs, regarding a household name of the legacy media apparently deceptively distorting its broadcasts, and then resisting attempts to clear the public record.” Truth and Accuracy Submit a Correction → We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. Tags: CBS News, Donald Trump, Interview, Kamala Harris, Lawsuit, U.S. News Jack Davis Contributor, News SummaryMoreRecentContact Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues. Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today. Advertisement