Trump Lawyers Confirm They Are in ‘Active Settlement Discussions' With Paramount Over President's ‘60 Minutes' Lawsuit
Attorneys representing President Trump in his $20 billion lawsuit against CBS over the allegedly deceptive editing of a '60 Minutes' segment have requested an extension of court deadlines, citing the fact that the parties 'are engaged in active settlement discussions.'
Multiple news outlets including Variety have reported that Trump and Paramount have been engaged in ongoing settlement talks. In a filing Friday on Texas federal court, lawyers for Trump and co-plaintiff Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas — together with attorneys for Paramount Global — said they were requesting an extension to court deadlines 'because the Parties are engaged in active settlement discussions, including continued mediation.'
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'The Parties are not seeking to extend any deadlines regarding the pending motions to dismiss, and Defendants intend to file their reply on or before June 23, 2025,' the filing said.
Media reports have indicated Paramount is prepared to pay millions of dollars to settle Trump's suit. The media conglomerate, which is seeking FCC sign-off on its deal to merge with Skydance Media, offered $15 million to settle the suit but that figure was rejected by Trump, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Trump's lawyers want at least $25 million — and they want '60 Minutes' to issue an apology to the president, according to the Journal article. In addition, Trump's lawyers 'threatened another lawsuit' against CBS over its news coverage amid the settlement talks, according to the WSJ report.
Trump filed the lawsuit against CBS just days before the 2024 presidential election, alleging that a '60 Minutes' interview with then-VP Kamala Harris violated a Texas consumer protection law by misleading voters and causing Trump personal financial harm. His suit initially asked for $10 billion in damages. In February, the president amended the complaint to seek at least $20 billion. It's not clear how those figures were calculated.
Last month, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Shari Redstone, Paramount's controlling shareholder, warning her that a financial settlement by Paramount with the president would be tantamount to an illegal bribe.
In Paramount's March 2025 motion to dismiss Trump's suit, the company called the legal action 'an affront to the First Amendment' that is 'without basis in law or fact.' CBS News has maintained that the '60 Minutes' broadcast and promotion of the Harris interview was 'not doctored or deceitful.'
In a May 28 filing opposing Paramount's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Trump's lawyers claimed that the '60 Minutes' editing of the Harris interview 'led to widespread confusion and mental anguish of consumers,' including Trump. CBS's 'conduct, including news distortion, constituted commercial speech which cannot by any reasonable interpretation be found to have constituted editorial judgment, and that speech damaged Plaintiffs,' the filing said. 'The fact that such commercial speech was issued by a news organization does not insulate Defendants from liability under the First Amendment.'
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