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The latest court filing in President Donald Trump‘s lawsuit against Paramount Global signals a settlement is potentially in reach, possibly before the July 4th holiday weekend.
Lawyers for both parties requested a pause of all proceedings “until July 3, 2025,” according to Monday’s filing.
“The Parties respectfully submit that good cause to stay all proceedings exists because the Parties are engaged in good faith, advanced, settlement negotiations,” the lawyers told a Texas judge.
Paramount did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment. Representatives for Trump’s legal team declined to comment.
Lawyers for Paramount Global and President Donald Trump say they are “engaged in good faith, advanced settlement negotiations.” (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
CBS BLASTS TRUMP’S LAWSUIT AS ‘MERITLESS’ DESPITE RECENT $15 MILLION SETTLEMENT OFFER
Last week, it was reported that a mediator suggested a $20 million settlement that would include $17 million towards a presidential library in addition to paying legal fees and airing public service announcements on all Paramount networks about combating antisemitism. Trump previously rejected Paramount’s $15 million settlement offer, demanding at least $25 million and an apology, something Paramount wasn’t willing to give.
“President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, hoaxes, and lies to account,” Trump attorney Ed Paltzik told Fox News Digital in a statement last week. “CBS and Paramount targeted the President in an attempt to harm his reputation while committing the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history. President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion.”
President Donald Trump filed a $20 billion lawsuit against Paramount Global and CBS News over election interference allegations. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
Last October, Trump sued CBS News and Paramount for $10 billion over allegations of election interference involving the “60 Minutes” interview of then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired weeks before the presidential election (the amount later jumped to $20 billion).
The lawsuit alleges CBS News deceitfully edited an exchange Harris had with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, who asked her why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t “listening” to the Biden administration. Harris was widely mocked for the “word salad” answer that aired in a preview clip of the interview on “Face the Nation.”
However, when the same question aired during a primetime special on the network, Harris had a different, more concise response. Critics at the time accused CBS News of deceitfully editing Harris’ “word salad” answer to shield the Democratic nominee from further backlash leading up to Election Day.
An exchange from the “60 Minutes” election special between correspondent Bill Whitaker and then-Vice President Kamala Harris is at the center of President Donald Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit. (Screenshots/CBS News)
The raw transcript and footage released earlier this year by the FCC showed that both sets of Harris’ comments came from the same response, but CBS News had aired only the first half of her response in the “Face the Nation” preview clip and aired the second half during the primetime special.
CBS News has denied any wrongdoing and stands by the broadcast and its reporting.
Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder who recused herself from settlement discussions in February, made clear that she wanted to settle Trump’s lawsuit in hopes of clearing the pathway for Paramount’s multibillion-dollar planned merger with Skydance Media, which needs approval from the Trump administration’s FCC.
There has been newsroom drama in recent months involving Redstone’s efforts to “keep tabs” on the network’s reporting of Trump, at least until the merger closes. That led to the abrupt resignations of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who claimed he could no longer maintain editorial independence, in April, and CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon in May.
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