President Donald Trump secured another legal win on Tuesday as Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, agreed to a $16 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by Trump accusing the network of election interference.
The case focused on a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, aired a month before the 2024 election. A promotional clip released by CBS showed Harris giving a disjointed response to a question about Israel, but that version never aired in the final segment.
In the promo, Harris said: “The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.” However, the final version substituted this response with a more polished one, in which she said, “We are not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
The unedited remarks were absent from the broadcast, the YouTube version, the transcript, and the "Overtime" segment. Critics, including Trump’s team, called out the discrepancy, accusing CBS of selectively editing the vice president’s remarks.
“Why did 60 Minutes choose not to air Kamala’s full word salad, and what else did they choose not to air?” asked Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “The American people deserve the full, unedited transcript.”
Trump himself lashed out at CBS on Truth Social, calling the segment “the very definition of FAKE NEWS!” and demanded an apology. “The producers of 60 Minutes sliced and diced (‘cut and pasted’) Lyin’ Kamala’s answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent,” he wrote.
Former CBS reporter Catherine Herridge noted there was precedent for releasing full transcripts of high-level interviews. “Full transcript = journalistic transparency,” she said, referencing Trump’s and Bill Barr’s past interviews with CBS.
Several Republican lawmakers also pushed for the network to release the uncut interview. Sen. John Thune said, “If the Harris campaign stands by all of the vice president’s comments, then I’m not sure why they wouldn’t support releasing the full interview.” Sen. John Barrasso added that “CBS has proven its bias” and transparency was necessary.
According to Fox News, the $16 million settlement will cover legal fees, case expenses, and support for Trump’s presidential library or future charitable causes. An additional media fund for conservative messaging is also reportedly in the works as part of the agreement.
While CBS and Paramount Global did not admit fault, the company agreed to release full, unedited transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said, “President Trump will always ensure that no one gets away with lying to the American People as he continues on his singular mission to Make America Great Again.”