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From Fox News: Paramount Global and CBS agreed on Tuesday to pay President Donald Trump a sum that could reach north of $30 million to settle the president’s election interference lawsuit against the network.
Trump will receive $16 million upfront. 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, Fox News Digital has learned. With these considerations, CBS would pay well in excess of the $15 million ABC paid Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit last year. Current Paramount management disputes the additional allocation.
Sources close to the situation told Fox News Digital that CBS has agreed to update its editorial standards to install a mandatory new rule. Going forward, the network will promptly release full, unedited transcripts of future presidential candidates’ interviews. People involved in the settlement talks have referred to this as the “Trump Rule.”
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team called it a record settlement that held the “Fake News” responsible for an act of “deceit” in comments to Fox News Digital.
“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. CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle,” the spokesperson told Fox. “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.”
CBS has declined to acknowledge any journalistic wrongdoing in the settlement.
Paramount released a statement saying, “The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement, including the Texas action and the threatened defamation action.”
In a lawsuit against CBS, former President Donald Trump is demanding a $20 billion in damages, saying the network’s handling of a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2023 was a clear case of election interference ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
According to Trump’s lawsuit, CBS News played fast and loose with an exchange between Harris and “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker. During the interview, Whitaker asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lack of engagement with the Biden administration. Harris’ response, which was described as a bit of a jumbled mess, was hilariously ridiculed in a preview clip of the interview that aired on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Later, when the same question was asked during a primetime special on the network, Harris gave a better, more concise answer. Critics at the time accused CBS News of editing Harris’ “word salad” response to protect the Democratic nominee from more criticism heading up to Election Day.
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