CBS would offer USD 17 million to Donald Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit

According to reports, a mediator allegedly offered CBS, a subsidiary of Paramount Global, to pay at least 17 million dollars to U.S. President Donald Trump to end a defamation lawsuit for an amount of USD 20 billion. Trump had already rejected a previous offer of 15 million from Paramount.

The agreement, revealed by The Wall Street Journal citing sources close to the case, seeks to close the litigation initiated by Trump against CBS News last year. The lawsuit is due to the network allegedly manipulating for political purposes a 60 Minutes interview with then Vice President and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, before the 2024 elections, altering the content to benefit the Democratic Party and harm Trump.

CBS News described the lawsuit as a direct attack on press freedom and the First Amendment, and presented the full transcript of the interview to demonstrate that there was no manipulation with partisan intentions, although it was proven that there was.

At the time the interview was published, it was evident that there was manipulation through editing in favor of Harris, removing the "worst" scenes and leaving only the best to try to benefit her image. Conversely, in Trump's interview, it was edited to try to give a negative image of the then Republican candidate.

If finalized, the agreement would include a payment of 17 million dollars to Trump's presidential foundation and museum, as well as another significant sum to cover legal expenses. Trump also demands a public apology from Paramount, something the company resists.

This potential agreement would add to other similar settlements reached by Trump. In a previous case, ABC News (owned by Disney) paid 15 million dollars after false statements by journalist George Stephanopoulos, who claimed that Trump had been found civilly liable for rape against writer E. Jean Carroll.

Meanwhile, Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, agreed in January to pay 25 million dollars for the suspension of Trump's accounts after the January 6, 2021, riots. Meanwhile, X (formerly Twitter) also agreed to compensate him with 10 million for a similar measure.