President Donald Trump scored another victory Tuesday as Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, agreed to a $16 million settlement in a lawsuit Trump filed accusing the network of election interference.
The lawsuit arose from a “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris conducted one month before the 2024 election. CBS News had released a promotional clip featuring Harris giving a convoluted response to a question from host Bill Whitaker, but when the episode aired, a different, more coherent answer was shown.
Whitaker discussed U.S. financial support for Israel in its fight against violent Islamic extremists in the region. “But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” Whitaker suggested.
In the promotional clip, Harris responded with this word salad: “The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”
However, those remarks were omitted from the televised broadcast, the YouTube posting of the interview, the official transcript, and the show’s “Overtime” segment. Rather, Whitaker’s identical statement, “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” was followed by the then-VP saying: “We are not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
“Why did 60 Minutes choose not to air Kamala’s full word salad, and what else did they choose not to air?” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national campaign press secretary, asked at the time. “The American people deserve the full, unedited transcript from Kamala’s sit-down interview. We call upon 60 Minutes and CBS to release it. What do they, and Kamala, have to hide?”
“I’ve never seen this before, but the producers of 60 Minutes sliced and diced (‘cut and pasted’) Lyin’ Kamala’s answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent, over and over again,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This is a stain on the reputation of 60 Minutes that is not recoverable – It will always remain with this once storied brand,” he said. “I have never heard of such a thing being done in ‘News.’ It is the very definition of FAKE NEWS! The public is owed a MAJOR AND IMMEDIATE APOLOGY! This is an open and shut case, and must be investigated, starting today!”
Former CBS News reporter Catherine Herridge posted on X, “As Trump campaign calls on @60Minutes to release ‘full, unedited transcript’ of Kamala Harris interview … There is precedent. When I interviewed then President Trump in July 2020 @CBSNews we posted the interview transcript.” Herridge noted that the left-wing network did the same thing for its 2019 interview with then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr. “Full transcript = journalistic transparency,” she added.
“Trump will receive $16 million upfront,” Fox News reported. “This will cover legal fees, costs of the case, and contributions to his future presidential library or charitable causes, to be determined at Trump’s discretion. There is an anticipation that there will be another allocation in the mid-eight figures set aside for advertisements, public service announcements, or other similar transmissions, in support of conservative causes by the network in the future. … Going forward, the network will promptly release full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews.”
“With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told Fox News. “CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle. President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People as he continues on his singular mission to Make America Great Again.”