Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling yet again for a “full investigation” into Paramount and Donald Trump’s settlement discussions after the two parties agreed to resolve the president’s lawsuit against CBS and “60 Minutes” for $16 million.
“With Paramount folding to Donald Trump at the same time the company needs his administration’s approval for its billion-dollar merger, this could be bribery in plain sight,” the Democrat said in a statement to TheWrap. “Paramount has refused to provide answers to a congressional inquiry, so I’m calling for a full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken.”
The settlement covers legal fees and other costs as well as a donation that will be allocated to a “future presidential library.” Paramount also said that “in the future, 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.”
Notably, the settlement does not include any statement of apology or regret from CBS or “60 Minutes.”
Warren said the settlement “exposes a glaring need for rules to restrict donations to sitting presidents’ libraries,” adding that she plans to introduce new legislation to “rein in corruption through presidential library donations.”
“The Trump administration’s level of sheer corruption is appalling and Paramount should be ashamed of putting its profits over independent journalism,” Warren’s statement concluded.
In his own statement on X, Sen. Ron Wyden said that Paramount “just paid Trump a bribe for merger approval.”
“When Democrats retake power, I’ll be first in line calling for federal charges,” he added. “In the meantime, state prosecutors should make the corporate execs who sold out our democracy answer in court, today.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who did not return TheWrap’s request for comment, previously joined the pair in penning a letter warning controlling shareholder Shari Redstone that settling in exchange for regulatory approval of its pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media could constitute a violation of federal anti-bribery laws.
Along with the warning, the trio asked Redstone to answer nine questions by June 2, including if Paramount believes the case was without merit, if company leaders discussed settling in order to smooth things over for the Skydance merger, if “60 Minutes” made changes to its programming with that in mind, and if further such changes are coming.
While legal experts who previously spoke to TheWrap didn’t rule out legal action due to a settlement, they have dismissed the notion of bribery charges as a “non-case.”
In addition to the scrutiny from Warren, Wyden and Sanders, California State Senate Democrats Josh Becker and Thomas Umberg have launched an investigation into the matter and invited former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens and former CBS News president Wendy McMahon to testify.
Becker and Umberg did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment on the settlement.
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