A group of senators is warning Shari Redstone that the Paramount chief shareholder’s push to reach a settlement with Donald Trump in his lawsuit against CBS News could potentially be in violation of federal bribery laws.
In a letter sent by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) on Tuesday night, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the legislators warned Paramount “may be engaging in improper conduct involving the Trump Administration in exchange for approval of its merger with Skydance Media.”
The letter was sent just hours after CBS News president Wendy McMahon was forced out amid the ongoing tensions over Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit, which accuses the network of deceptively editing a 60 Minutes interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris last October. The complaint, which legal experts have said is meritless and would likely fail in court, alleges that CBS engaged in election interference to help Harris defeat Trump.
Additionally, the same senators urged Redstone two weeks ago not to cave to the president and settle the lawsuit in an effort to push through Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance Media. The merger needs the approval of the Federal Communications Commission, which is chaired by Trump loyalist Brendan Carr.
The FCC chief, who has served as the president’s attack dog against legacy media outlets, has said that the CBS lawsuit was “likely to arise in the context of the FCC review” of the merger.
A spokesperson for Redstone declined to comment.
The senators noted that when the president first filed his lawsuit as a private citizen before last year’s election, the network had called the case “completely without merit,” suggesting that current efforts to settle the suit now that Trump is in office could be illegal.
“Under the federal bribery statute, it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value to public officials to influence an official act,” the letter stated. “If Paramount officials make these concessions in a quid pro quo arrangement to influence President Trump or other Administration officials, they may be breaking the law.”
On top of that, the lawmakers referenced the recent resignations of McMahon and 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, who both said that apologizing for the Harris interview as part of a settlement was a “red line” for them, as proof that the corporation was attempting to moderate the network’s content to appease the president.
“Paramount’s scheme to curry favor with the Trump Administration has compromised journalistic independence and raises serious concerns of corruption and improper conduct,” the senators noted. “Paramount’s apparent capitulation to President Trump is a sharp contrast from its earlier position that it would ‘vigorously defend against’ the lawsuit.”
The Democratic lawmakers are asking Paramount if it made any changes to 60 Minutes programming to facilitate approval of the merger and if it believes that the president’s lawsuit has any merit, among other things.
Redstone, who has made it clear she wants to settle with Trump to help the merger go through, installed CBS veteran producer Susan Zirinsky as the new executive editor overseeing the standards of 60 Minutes earlier this year. This was not only in response to the lawsuit, but also over content Redstone – who is a supporter of Jewish and Israeli causes – felt was antisemitic or too sympathetic towards Gaza.
Furthermore, with the president once again raging about the program’s segments that he felt were too harsh towards him, Redstone recently asked CBS CEO George Cheeks to possibly “delay sensitive stories about Trump” until the Skydance merger was completed.
Notably, a story about Trump’s mass-firing of IRS employees that was scheduled to air on Sunday night’s season finale was bumped due to “late developments” in the story. While the report was cut by the producers for editorial reasons, the segment had become a point of contention behind the scenes, with Cheeks even considering airing a primetime special in 60 Minutes place.
Shortly after Owens announced his resignation last month, citing a loss of editorial independence, 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley delivered an on-air rebuke of the corporate bosses. “Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,” Pelley said, adding that this was amid the company seeking to complete a merger that needed the administration’s approval.
Meanwhile, the question of whether this is extortion has repeatedly come up within the CBS newsroom, sources told The Independent. On top of that, while the Democratic senators may not have much investigatory power due to the GOP being in the majority, Paramount executives have wondered if they could be held liable for settling the lawsuit.
“Company executives in recent weeks have talked about the risk that paying such a settlement could expose directors and officers to liability in potential future shareholder litigation or criminal charges for bribing a public official,” the Wall Street Journal reported in February.
With the departures of McMahon and Owens, many within the network sense that a settlement is now imminent.
At the same time, though, mediation talks between Trump’s legal team and Paramount recently broke down, with the two sides still far apart on a settlement.
While Disney recently settled a similar lawsuit with Trump for $15 million, CNN is reporting that Paramount could pay between $30 to 50 million to the president.
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