Freedom of the Press Foundation Threatens Legal Action If Paramount Settles with Trump Over “60 Minutes” Interview
Media advocacy group Freedom of the Press Foundation has sent a warning letter to Paramount mogul Shari Redstone, outlining plans to file a lawsuit if the media company settles a suit brought by President Donald Trump against its subsidiary, CBS.
“Corporations that own news outlets should not be in the business of settling baseless lawsuits that clearly violate the First Amendment,” Freedom of the Press Foundation director of advocacy Seth Stern said in a statement.
Stern issued the warning by asking for a litigation hold on Friday afternoon, demanding that Paramount preserve any documents relating to a potential Trump deal and urging the company not to settle. The nonprofit can seek damages as it owns Paramount shares. The nonprofit will act for itself and other investors, alleging the settlement amounts to the company executives “breaching fiduciary duty and wasting corporate resources by engaging in conduct which US senators and other stakeholders believe could amount unlawful bribery and fall outside of the scope of business judgment rule.” Both the White House and Paramount have not responded to comments. Trump originally sought $10 billion in damages but amended his lawsuit to request $20 billion. Paramount Global has a market cap of roughly $8.5 billion.
Although Paramount previously called the lawsuit “an affront to the First Amendment” in legal filings to dismiss this March, it has reportedly sought to settle; the company has a potentially lucrative merger pending with Hollywood studio Skydance that would require the Trump administration’s signoff.
Last week, Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Redstone seeking information about any potential settlement, raising concerns that it would amount to bribery. They wrote that if Paramount officials made these concessions as a “quid pro quo” to influence President Trump and other Administration officials, they may have broken the law. Bill Owens, the 60 Minutes executive director for many years, resigned abruptly in April. CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon also resigned this month. She wrote to her staff that “it’s clear the company and myself do not agree on a way forward.” Trump’s lawsuit against Paramount wasn’t an isolated media attack. In March 2024, he sued ABC News (owned by Walt Disney Company) for defamation over comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos, who portrayed the president as being “liable for the rape”. The case was settled in December. Trump appeared to have threatened The New York Times in late April with legal action on his social media platform Truth Social.
