Donald Trump has been raging at Paramount over a 60 Minutes interview he says was edited to favor Kamala Harris since before he was elected in November, but this particular conflict may actually be nearing an end. Attorneys filed a motion requesting a stay in proceedings in the ongoing suit until July 3, as the two parties may be nearing a settlement, Variety reports. “The Parties respectfully submit that good cause to stay all proceedings exists because the Parties are engaged in good faith, advanced, settlement negotiations,” the motion reads.
Trump is suing the network for $20 billion over a pre-election interview with Harris he contends was misleadingly edited. Paramount’s attorneys have dismissed the whole thing as a “meritless assault on the First Amendment,” a noble and important position with one catch: Paramount needs FCC approval to complete its pending merger with Skydance. Trump reportedly already rejected a $15 million settlement offer from Paramount. It has not been reported as of this writing how much the company is offering in this round of negotiations, but last week, a mediator suggested throwing $20 million at the problem (with $17 million going to Trump’s presidential foundation) to make it go away. Trump is also demanding an apology for the interview, which may be a sticking point in negotiations.
The suit has caused all sorts of internal tension at Paramount. The company has already seen the departures of two top executives—top 60 Minutes producer Bill Owens and CBS News President Wendy McMahon—both of whom cited increased corporate oversight and loss of journalistic independence as factors in their resignation. In a stunning segment, 60 Minutes also admonished its parent company live on-air, ending an episode after Owens’ departure by lauding the former boss and accusing Paramount of “supervis[ing] our content in new ways.” We’ll see what the show has to say if Paramount does end up settling.
