Shocking! Skydance made 'side deal' with Trump over Paramount lawsuit
What's the story
High-ranking executives at Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News, are reportedly in shock over allegations that Skydance Media made a separate deal with US President Donald Trump as part of the settlement for his 60 Minutes lawsuit against Paramount. The revelation comes after news broke that Paramount had settled with Trump for $16 million. Paramount is working on a multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance.
Internal conflict
Deal reportedly raises total settlement amount to nearly $30 million
The reported deal, which was first disclosed by Fox Business Network senior correspondent Charles Gasparino, allegedly involves Skydance Media's chief David Ellison promising to run public service announcements (PSAs) as part of the settlement. This would reportedly raise the total settlement amount to nearly $30 million. An insider told Page Six that those aware of the deal at Paramount were shocked to learn about this alleged "backchanneling."
Denial issued
Source claims PSAs were never approved by Paramount's board
A source close to the situation told Page Six that the $16 million was the only settlement approved by an official mediator and that Paramount had no knowledge of any deal between Trump and Ellison for PSAs. The source further claimed that PSAs were never approved by Paramount's board or sanctioned by the mediator. In response, a Paramount representative stated, "Paramount's settlement with President Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs."
Settlement details
'CBS News' is not admitting to any journalistic wrongdoing
As part of the deal, CBS News is not admitting to any journalistic wrongdoing. The network's statement on Tuesday night said, "Paramount will pay $16 million in total, which includes plaintiffs' fees and costs, and except for fees and costs, will be allocated to the future presidential library." This comes after Trump accused CBS News of election interference over its editing of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
Merger investigation
Paramount is in the middle of an $8 billion merger
The reported deal comes as Paramount is in the middle of an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Gasparino previously reported that Trump regulators were delaying approval of the deal while investigating whether CBS News violated Federal Communications Commission guidelines requiring its content to be free of political bias. If the merger goes through, Paramount's controlling owner Shari Redstone will reportedly receive a nearly $2 billion payout.