(WASHINGTON)— PEN America today sounded the alarm about escalating threats to a free and independent press after CBS News’s parent company, Paramount Global, caved to presidential pressure by settling a baseless lawsuit for $16 million, and failed to stand behind its news division.
“Paramount’s decision to settle a meritless lawsuit rather than stand behind its journalists at CBS News is a spineless capitulation,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director at PEN America. “This was a moment to defend press freedom and support reporters targeted by a frivolous legal attack. Instead, Paramount chose appeasement to bolster its finances, sending a dangerous message that media outlets can be pressured into submission if corporate parents find their profits at risk from government action in unrelated areas. With two major network owners bowing to the president in quick succession, the danger is clear: emboldened politicians and powerful actors will feel more free than ever to weaponize lawsuits and bring regulatory pressure to bear to silence and censor independent journalism.”
Paramount’s announcement that it would resolve a lawsuit filed last fall by then-candidate Donald Trump, who objected to routine edits made to an October “60 Minutes” interview with his opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, is a significant capitulation by a major media company. Legal experts widely agree the lawsuit is meritless and would likely fail on First Amendment grounds. The settlement follows Disney’s agreement last December to end a defamation case brought by Trump against ABC News, which many legal experts also viewed as having a strong First Amendment defense. Together, these moves signal an alarming trend: President Trump, in addition to attacking individual journalists and media channels and bringing meritless lawsuits, is willing to weaponize the full regulatory power of the federal government to suppress speech and coerce news outlets and their owners into submission.
The CBS suit was particularly frivolous, according to legal experts, with Trump first demanding $10 billion, then $20 billion because he claimed the network had deceptively “doctored” the script to unlawfully help Harris win the election; he subsequently also alleged that in doing so it had “improperly diverted” viewers from his own media platforms. The CBS lawsuit stemmed from an accurate excerpt from the Harris interview that was shown on “Face the Nation.” A different and shorter answer from Harris—also accurate— was shown the next day on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” In a Texas legal filing, Trump claimed that CBS deceptively edited the “60 Minutes” excerpt to “mislead the public and attempt to tip the scales” of an election he went on to win.
The settlement comes as Paramount is seeking approval for a merger from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). According to The Wall Street Journal, Paramount executives discussed the settlement while considering “options to reduce friction with the incoming administration.” The FCC – in a complaint the agency had previously dismissed, but which Chairman Brendan Carr reopened – requested an unedited transcript and camera feeds of the “60 Minutes” interview, and CBS complied. Citing Paramount’s journalistic interference, “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens recently resigned, saying “it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it.”
This weaponization of litigation that is often without merit, along with threats of regulatory action against corporate parents, has become a hallmark of the Trump administration’s approach to silencing critics and imposing its own favored viewpoints. “CBS News may weather the financial hit, but smaller newsrooms facing similar legal threats could be pushed to the brink. Many are already struggling and have been forced to scale back coverage in the communities that rely on them most,” Richardson said. “These baseless lawsuits are part of a broader strategy to intimidate and silence independent journalism. We cannot allow that strategy to succeed.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057