When Donald J. Trump sued CBS for $10 billion days before the 2024 election, accusing the company of deceptively editing a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, many legal experts dismissed the litigation as a far-fetched attempt to punish an out-of-favor news outlet. Now Mr. Trump is back in the White House, and many executives at CBS’s parent company, Paramount, believe that settling the lawsuit would increase the odds that the Trump administration does not block or delay their planned multibillion-dollar merger with another company, according to several people with knowledge of the matter. Settlement discussions between representatives of Paramount and Mr. Trump are now underway, according to three people with knowledge of the talks. There is no assurance, though, that they will result in a deal, and it is unclear what the terms of any such deal might include.

Paramount is in talks to settle a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Donald Trump against CBS News and “60 Minutes,” the New York Times reported on Thursday. According to the Times, executives at Paramount believe that settling the lawsuit would make it less likely that Trump administration will block the studio’s planned merger with Skydance. Two people close to Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, told the Times that she “strongly supports the effort to settle.” Paramount representatives declined to comment when contacted by TheWrap. If Paramount does settle, it would be following in the footsteps of ABC and Meta, who both opted to cooperate with the incoming 47th president rather than continue litigation.

In October, Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS News alleging election interference over its handling of the "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing the network of aiding his Democratic rival through deceptive editing. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that CBS parent company Paramount Global is considering settling the suit ahead of a planned merger that ultimately must pass muster with the new Trump administration. Sanders took to X on Friday to sound the alarm on the prospects of a settlement. "CBS may be reaching a legal settlement with Trump because he didn't like how a campaign interview with Kamala was edited. Really?" Sanders reacted. "If CBS caves, the belief that we have an independent media protected by the First Amendment is undermined."