Paramount settles Trump's '60 Minutes' lawsuit for $16 million

Paramount Global, CBS News' parent company, has agreed to settle President Trump's "60 Minutes" lawsuit for $16 million.

The $16 million “includes plaintiffs’ fees and costs,” and will be allocated to Trump’s future presidential library, rather than being paid to Trump directly, the media conglomerate said late Tuesday night in announcing the settlement.

“The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret,” Paramount also said in the statement.

The settlement agreement is similar to the one Trump settled with Disney’s ABC in December 2024.

Paramount also said that as part of the agreement “in the future, ‘60 Minutes’ will release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.”

Paramount Global was sued by Trump for $20 billion over CBS News allegedly deceptively editing a "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year, who at the time of the interview was also the Democratic nominee in the presidential race.

Trump had originally sued CBS News for $10 billion in October, but then added Paramount to the lawsuit in February and upped the amount to $20 billion.

Amid Trump's lawsuit, Paramount has been attempting to complete a multibillion-dollar merger with entertainment company Skydance that needs to be approved by the Trump administration.

Paramount said Tuesday that “this lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the [Federal Communications Commission] approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has repeatedly said that his merger review process is separate from the lawsuit. However, before his promotion to chairman, the Trump appointee said complaints over the “60 Minutes” edit would be “likely to arise” as part of the FCC’s merger review.

Over the course of the lawsuit, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon announced in May that she would resign over differences with the network's corporate ownership. A month earlier, the executive producer for "60 Minutes" said he was stepping down from his role because he could no longer objectively oversee the show as it faces backlash over Trump's lawsuit.