President Donald Trump secured a major legal and political victory Tuesday, winning a $16 million settlement from Paramount Global—the parent company of CBS News—over what his legal team described as a deliberate act of election interference.
The case stemmed from a 2024 interview between CBS’s “60 Minutes” and then-Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris. A teaser clip aired before the full interview featured Harris giving a garbled, meandering response to a question about Israel. But when the program aired, CBS substituted a different, more polished answer, triggering accusations of political favoritism and media manipulation.
In the teaser, Harris responded to host Bill Whitaker’s observation that “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” with a convoluted statement:
“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.”
Monday, on a 60 Minutes election special, Bill Whitaker asks Vice President Kamala Harris if the U.S. lacks influence over American ally Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. https://t.co/TG3WOCA23A pic.twitter.com/IH6MXMjuCP
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 6, 2024
But in the broadcasted interview, the same question was followed by a completely different answer:
“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.”
Nowhere—on television, on YouTube, or in the official transcript—did the original statement appear.
Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt demanded the release of the full, unedited transcript, asking, “What do they, and Kamala, have to hide?” Former CBS journalist Catherine Herridge also weighed in, citing precedent for full transcript releases, including her 2020 interview with Trump.
Trump called out CBS and “60 Minutes” on Truth Social:
“I’ve never seen this before. They sliced and diced Lyin’ Kamala’s incoherent answers over and over again. This is a stain on the reputation of 60 Minutes… It is the very definition of FAKE NEWS!”
Pressure from lawmakers followed. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) both called on CBS to release the full footage, with Barrasso slamming the network’s selective editing: “CBS has proven its bias… The American people deserve full transparency.”
Faced with growing scrutiny, Paramount Global agreed to settle.
According to reports, Trump will receive $16 million upfront, covering legal fees and other costs. Additional funds may be allocated in support of conservative causes, including ad space and public service broadcasts.
The settlement also includes a commitment from CBS to release unedited transcripts of all future interviews with presidential candidates. However, the network admitted no wrongdoing in its statement:
“The settlement will include a release of all claims regarding any CBS reporting through the date of the settlement,” Paramount noted.
A Trump legal spokesperson called it a “record settlement,” adding:
“President Trump once again holds the Fake News media accountable. CBS and Paramount had no choice but to settle. He will never stop fighting to Make America Great Again.”