Freedom of the Press Foundation Weighing Legal Options Against Paramount Over Trump Settlement
'Today is a dark day for press freedom. Paramount's spineless decision to settle Trump's baseless and patently unconstitutional lawsuit is an insult to the journalists of '60 Minutes' and an invitation to Trump to continue targeting other news outlets,' Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement. 'Each time a company cowers and surrenders to Trump's demands it only emboldens him to do it again. It will be remembered as one of the most shameful capitulations by the press to a president in history.'
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FPF, a press freedom advocacy group, already filed a shareholder information demand back in May and said Wednesday it's exploring further legal action to hold Paramount's board accountable for what it sees as a capitulation to Trump that violates shareholders' interests and the First Amendment. The organization itself is a shareholder.
The FPF called out the settlement as a conflict of interest and said it was 'intended to clear the way for federal approval' in the sale of Paramount to Skydance Media which would also 'result in a multimillion-dollar payout to Paramount Chair Shari Redstone.'
The nonprofit already filed a shareholder information demand to Redstone and announced Wednesday they are sending a second demand to uncover information regarding the decision. Based on the information, the FPF 'will continue to pursue our legal options to stop this affront to Paramount shareholders, CBS journalists and the First Amendment.' The initial filing called the lawsuit 'frivolous' and notified Paramount of its intention to take legal action in the event of a settlement with Trump.
Many have called the settlement problematic with three U.S. senators (Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden) launching an investigation into whether paying off Trump through a settlement to obtain approval of the sale would violate federal bribery and other laws. The California Senate opened a similar investigation.
'With Paramount folding to Donald Trump at the same time the company needs his administration's approval for its billion-dollar merger, this could be bribery in plain sight,' Warren said in a Wednesday statement to TheWrap. 'Paramount has refused to provide answers to a congressional inquiry, so I'm calling for a full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken.'The settlement with Trump covers legal fees and other costs, as well as a donation that will be allocated to a 'future presidential library.' Paramount also said that '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.'
Notably, the settlement does not include any statement of apology or regret from CBS or '60 Minutes.'
Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks addressed the settlement in a shareholder call early Wednesday morning and said the decision allows the company to focus on 'core objectives, rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction.'
Trump initially sued CBS and '60 Minutes' for $20 billion, claiming that an Oct.7 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris was deceptively edited and caused him 'mental anguish.'
Trump's legal team called the settlement a 'win for the American people.''With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people as he, once again, holds the Fake News media accountable for their wrongdoing and deceit,' a spokesperson for Trump's legal team said in a statement. 'CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle.'
Paramount did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment.
The post Freedom of the Press Foundation Weighing Legal Options Against Paramount Over Trump Settlement appeared first on TheWrap.
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