Paramount to pay $16 million for Trump's lawsuit over ‘60 Minutes’ CBS interview with Kamala Harris

CBS parent Paramount has acknowledged to pay $16 million to settle US President Donald Trump's lawsuit over the editing of CBS's “60 Minutes” interview with then vice president Kamala Harris in October last year during the 2024 presidential campaign.

This comes after ABC News and Meta settled lawsuits filed by Trump for defamation and the suspension of his social media accounts, respectively,

Paramount declined to issue an apology or convey remorse as a component of the settlement, but consented to provide transcripts of future "60 Minutes" interviews with Trump and Harris. Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS in late October, alleging that the "60 Minutes" segment with Harris from the previous year was altered to omit a potentially embarrassing remark, AFP reported.

Trump objected to the editing in which Harris appears to give two distinct responses to a question posed by the program’s Bill Whitaker in separate segments broadcast on “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation” earlier that day.

The president’s attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, stated that this led to confusion and “mental anguish,” misinformed voters, and caused them to focus less on Trump and his Truth Social platform.

According to Paramount statement on Tuesday, the $16 million will be allocated to fund Trump's future presidential library instead of his personal use, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Trump originally demanded $10 billion in damages before revising the lawsuit to seek $20 billion. The lawsuit led to leadership changes at CBS News, including the departure of "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens in April and CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon in May.

(With inputs from AFP and AP)