The Freedom of the Press Foundation says it intends to sue Paramount if the production company settles with Donald Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit.
The non-profit organization said that corporations that own news outlets “should not be in the business” of settling “baseless lawsuits that clearly violate the First Amendment and put other media outlets at risk.”
Trump sued the parent company of CBS News over a primetime election special that aired in October, shortly before the 2024 presidential election. It featured interviews with presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.
The president accused the broadcaster of “unlawful and illegal behavior” in the way it had edited the interview with Harris. Trump and vice president JD Vance had declined to participate in the program.
Interviews are typically edited to fit into a program’s time limits. CBS later posted the entire interview online for the public to see every minute, with no noticeable surprises. Yet, according to reports, Paramount is considering settling the suit, if only to assuage the president of the United States.
In a letter addressed to Paramount Global boss Shari Redstone, FPF Director of Advocacy Seth Stern compared a settlement of the “meritless” lawsuit to a bribe, saying it “may well be a thinly veiled effort to launder bribes through the court system.”
Not only would it “tank CBS’s reputation but, as three U.S. senators recently explained, it could put Paramount executives at risk of breaking the law,” he wrote.
“Our mission as a press freedom organization is to defend the rights of journalists and the public, not the financial interests of corporate higher-ups who turn their backs on them. When you run a news organization, you have the responsibility to protect First Amendment rights, not abandon them to line your own pockets.”
He added: “We hope Paramount will reconsider the dangerous path it appears to be contemplating but, if not, we are prepared to pursue our rights as shareholders. And we hope other Paramount shareholders will join us.”
The Independent has contacted Paramount Global for comment on the letter from FPF.
The lawsuit threat from the press organization comes after Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and eight Democratic senators wrote their own letter to Redstone earlier this month, in which they urged her not to cave to the president’s $20 billion demand.
Sanders and the other senators wrote that Trump’s complaint was a “blatant attempt to intimidate the media and those who speak out against him.” The letter was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, Chris Murphy, Ed Markey, Richard Blumenthal, Dick Durbin and Jeff Merkley.
Redstone, who has now recused herself from the board’s discussion on the case, has long pushed for a settlement in hopes that it will convince the Trump administration to approve Paramount’s merger with Skydance.
John Cusack, an FPF founding board member, activist and actor, added: “I’m proud that Freedom of the Press Foundation is doing what CBS’s corporate owners won’t — standing up for press freedom and against authoritarian shakedowns.”
He added: “People who aren’t willing to defend the First Amendment should not be in the news business.”
The executive producer of 60 Minutes, Bill Owens, last month quit his job over “lack of journalistic independence” amid the Trump feud.
“Over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience,” Owens told a shocked staff in a memo.
