Trump Rejects $15 Million! His Fight Against CBS Has Just Begun!

Negotiations between President Donald Trump and Paramount Global remain stalled as they attempt to resolve his $20 billion lawsuit against the media conglomerate through mediation.

Fox News Digital has confirmed that President Trump rejected a $15 million offer to settle his lawsuit, according to a source familiar with the matter. The president’s legal team is reportedly demanding at least $25 million and a public apology from CBS News. President Trump’s attorneys have also alluded to the possibility of filing another lawsuit against the company. The rejection of the settlement offer was initially reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Neither President Trump’s attorney nor Paramount Global have provided official comments on the matter.

President Trump initially filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS News and Paramount in October, alleging election interference related to a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired weeks prior to the presidential election. The amount of the lawsuit has since increased to $20 billion.

The lawsuit contends that CBS News deceptively edited an exchange between Vice President Harris and “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker, where Whitaker questioned why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not “listening” to the Biden administration. Vice President Harris’ response to this question in a preview clip aired on “Face the Nation” was widely criticized as a “word salad.”

However, when the same question was broadcast during a primetime special, Vice President Harris provided a different, more succinct answer. Critics subsequently accused CBS News of intentionally editing Vice President Harris’ initial response to shield the Democratic nominee from negative attention leading up to the election.

The raw transcript and footage, which were later released by the FCC earlier this year, revealed that both of Vice President Harris’ statements originated from the same answer. CBS News aired only the first part of her response in the “Face the Nation” preview and the latter part during the primetime special.

CBS News has denied any wrongdoing and maintains the integrity of its broadcast and reporting. Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Paramount who recused herself from settlement discussions in February, reportedly favored settling President Trump’s lawsuit. This was partly motivated by the hope of facilitating Paramount’s multibillion-dollar planned merger with Skydance Media, a deal that requires approval from the Trump administration’s FCC.

However, recent months have seen internal turmoil within the newsroom concerning Ms. Redstone’s efforts to closely monitor the network’s coverage of President Trump, at least until the merger is finalized. This reportedly led to the abrupt resignation of “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens, who cited an inability to maintain editorial independence.

Adding to the speculation surrounding a potential settlement was the recent departure of CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon, who attributed her resignation to disagreements with the company. Despite these developments, CBS News journalists, including “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, have remained publicly defiant. Scott Pelley’s commencement address at Wake Forest University, in which he repeatedly criticized President Trump and his lawsuit, gained significant attention.

In his address, Scott Pelley questioned the motives behind attacks on universities and journalism, asserting that “ignorance works for power.” He accused those in power of attempting to instill fear in truth-seekers, suing journalists and their companies without merit, and manipulating the definition of commonly used words to create false narratives.