Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and the company’s board members are struggling to reach a decision about settling a $20 billion lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, it was reported Wednesday.
The New York Post’s Charles Gasparino reported that a major concern involves the likelihood that the Paramount board’s Directors and Officers (D&O) liability insurance wouldn’t cover bribery, a potential allegation if the sides settle.
Trump has sued CBS for $20 billion, alleging the network edited an interview with 2024 Democrat opponent Harris last fall to benefit her. CBS News has denied that. CBS’ parent company, Paramount Global, is in talks to potentially settle Trump’s lawsuit.
Gasparino previously reported Redstone is willing to pay Trump up to $50 million to settle the case, which coincides with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) holding up approval of her plan to sell Paramount and its CBS News subsidiary to independent film company Skydance for roughly $8 billion.
However, Paramount settling the Trump lawsuit could spark bribery accusations claiming payment would be to facilitate the Skydance deal, the Post reported.
“This lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process,” a Paramount spokesperson said in a statement to the Post. “We will abide by the legal process to defend our case.”
D&O insurance usually doesn’t cover bribery, and there’s also the possibility of civil suits brought by shareholders and, if the Democrats take the House and/or the Senate in the midterms, congressional hearings.
“I feel badly for her,” one top media CEO told Gasparino of Redstone. “She’s really in a tough spot.”
“They’re really worried that they could face civil or even criminal charges, and their insurance doesn’t cover the legal expense. The problem is no one really thinks Trump has a good case, and she would be settling to push the deal forward,” the CEO added.
In February, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said he was putting the investigation into CBS News’ broadcast of its interview with Harris on a fast track.
Carr later threatened to block mergers and acquisition proposals from companies with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) plans, Bloomberg reported.
In March, Carr said he was opening an investigation into the DEI practices of Walt Disney and its ABC unit, saying they may violate U.S. equal employment opportunity regulations.
Three months earlier, ABC News agreed to give $15 million to Trump’s future presidential library to settle a lawsuit over comments that anchor George Stephanopoulos made on air involving the civil case brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.
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