Paramount's Outrageous '60 Minutes' Settlement May Be Even Worse Than It Appears [View all]

Source: Huff Post

Jul 7, 2025, 08:49 PM EDT | Updated 6 hours ago


The dealings to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against “60 Minutes” may have been even more complicated and unseemly than was initially known. Trump on Thursday claimed that the settlement ― which consisted of a $16 million payout largely to his presidential library ― was actually worth significantly more because it also included advertising that CBS would eventually run.

“We did a deal for about $16 million plus $16 million, or maybe more than that in advertising. So it’s a combination of 16 plus 16 plus. So it’s like $32 [million] to maybe $35 million,” Trump said, according to a White House press pool report from The Washington Post’s Cat Zakrzewski.

Trump also praised David Ellison, the son of one of his close allies and chief executive at Skydance Media, an independent studio that’s attempting to merge with Paramount, CBS News’ parent company. The $8 billion merger will require approval from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission, which has led many to fear that the Paramount settlement is really about greasing the government’s wheels. Paramount denies this.

Trump’s comments appear to reference a “side deal” reported by the New York Post’s Charles Gasparino, who broke the news about an alleged offer that Ellison put forth. Gasparino reported that Ellison promised to run between “$15 million and $20 million of public service ads [on CBS] to promote causes supported by the president” once his company’s merger with Paramount was complete.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-paramount-david-ellison_n_686c4524e4b0dd2148c64a68