A high-stakes legal standoff between Paramount Global and former US President Donald Trump has escalated, with three prominent US senators warning the media giant and its controlling shareholder Shari Redstone that a potential settlement could breach federal anti-bribery laws.
In a public letter sent Monday, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden raised alarm over reports that Paramount may be negotiating a resolution to Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit tied to a 60 Minutes interview with then-vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The trio questioned whether Paramount was attempting to curry political favour, particularly as it seeks regulatory approval for its multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance Media.
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Open in new tab Settlement talks spark political backlash
The lawsuit at the centre of the controversy accuses CBS News of deceptively editing an October 2024 60 Minutes interview with Harris to remove a now-infamous “word salad” answer regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump’s legal team claims the edited clip was politically motivated and a breach of consumer protection laws in Texas.
While Paramount and CBS have denied any wrongdoing, describing the lawsuit as “an affront to the First Amendment”, the company entered mediation in April in a move analysts believe could be aimed at smoothing the path for its US$8.4 billion merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
That strategy is now under political scrutiny.
“Settling with Trump in the middle of a regulatory review could be viewed as an attempt to influence a government decision,” the senators wrote, suggesting such a move could be construed as “a form of bribery.”
BREAKING: Donald Trump sues CBS News for $10 billion for “deceptively doctoring” Kamala Harris’ 60-Minutes interview.
Trump is directly accusing CBS of election interference to help Harris, according to Fox News.
“CBS’ partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter… pic.twitter.com/1dEo0Y9ZbX
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 31, 2024
Merger raises the stakes
At the heart of the issue is Paramount’s need for approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which must sign off on the transfer of CBS’s broadcast licences as part of the Skydance deal.
Critics have pointed to the potential risk of political interference, with some insiders speculating that a resolution with Trump, who could return to the presidency, might be seen as a preemptive act of appeasement to avoid a regulatory block.
Despite the political noise, a Paramount Global spokesperson previously stated the lawsuit is “completely separate from, and unrelated to,” the Skydance transaction and the FCC process.
Australian assets under pressure as deal advances
While the US drama unfolds, the implications are also being felt in Australia, where Paramount Global owns Network 10.
According to according to a report from Capitol Brief which cited a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company recently downgraded the value of its Australian broadcast licences by US$8 million to an estimated US$13 million, as disclosed in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) have both approved the merger locally, but the sharp write-down raises serious questions about the network’s long-term positioning in a rapidly digitising market.