Case closed: Paramount settles Trump lawsuit over Kamala's '60 Minutes' interview for $16 million

CBS parent Paramount agreed Tuesday to pay $16 million to settle President Donald Trump's lawsuit over the content of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, according to media reports.

The settlement resolves Trump's $20 billion lawsuit against the network over his 60 Minutes interview with Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.

According to a Paramount statement published by the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday, the funds will go toward Trump’s future presidential library, not to him personally.

As part of the settlement, Paramount did not offer apologies or express regret but agreed to publish transcripts of 60 Minutes interviews with future presidential candidates.

In late October, Trump sued CBS claiming that its interview with Harris was edited to remove an embarrassing answer from the then-candidate. CBS countered that the editing was standard practice.

An "easy-to-win" lawsuit

Legal experts have argued that the lawsuit lacks merit and would have been an easy win for CBS if it had gone to court, given constitutional protections for freedom of the press.

However, Paramount entered mediation to placate Trump while seeking approval for its $8 billion merger with Skydance, which requires federal government approval.

Trump initially sought $10 billion in damages, later increasing the demand to $20 billion.

The case led to resignations at CBS News, with 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens stepping down in April and CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon resigning in May.