Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday urged Paramount Global chairwoman Shari Redstone to “not capitulate” to President Trump’s “attack on a free press,” following CBS News boss Wendy McMahon’s resignation earlier in the day.
“Do not settle Trump’s bogus lawsuit against 60 Minutes,” Sanders added on X.
The 83-year-old senator’s comment comes during a turbulent time for CBS News.
Bill Owens, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” quit last month, saying in a memo to staff he “would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it.” McMahon followed suit on Monday, saying in her own memo to staff that “it’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”
Their exits come as the network and parent company Paramount Global are facing a $20 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump. The president has accused “60 Minutes” of deceptively editing the answers of an Oct. 7 interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make her look good. In addition to the lawsuit, the president has called for CBS New’s broadcast license to be revoked over the interview.
And complicating matters even further, President Trump’s lawsuit coincides with the FCC’s review of Paramount’s pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The New York Post reported earlier this month that Redstone has asked CBS News executives to “delay airing sensitive stories” about President Trump until after the deal is approved.
Sanders’ call for CBS to not settle Trump’s lawsuit comes a few months after ABC News paid the president $15 million to settle a defamation case, at the heart of which was ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos saying on air multiple times that Trump was found “liable for rape” in the civil case E. Jean Carroll brought against him. In fact, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, which carries a different definition in New York, where the case took place.
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