Warren calls for investigation into Paramount’s $16M Trump settlement: ‘Bribery in plain sight’
(L) Ranking member Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 7:07 PM – Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren has continued to condemn Paramount Global after the company agreed to pay $16 million to President Donald Trump in a settlement deal — with the senator labeling it a “meritless” lawsuit.
She has slammed CBS parent company Paramount for “prioritizing profit over journalistic independence,” asserting that such actions undermine the integrity of the press.
Warren (D-Mass.) appeared on Tuesday on MSNBC’s “All In” program, reiterating that the lawsuit settlement between President Trump and Paramount “sounds a lot like bribery.”
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She also previously called for a formal investigation to determine whether any anti-bribery statutes have been violated.
“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,” Warren said in a statement. “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.”
In October 2024, Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS and Paramount Global alleging that the program “60 Minutes” had edited an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris in a manner that violated Texas consumer protection laws. It reportedly invoked the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA)—a consumer protection law typically used to address false advertising, fraud, and other deceptive business practices.
As part of the subsequent settlement, Paramount and CBS agreed to a $16 million payment but declined to issue a statement of apology or regret. However, they also later agreed to pay President Trump’s presidential library an additional $20 million after previously paying out the $16 million, according to Trump.
“Paramount/CBS/60 Minutes have today paid $16 Million Dollars in settlement, and we also anticipate receiving $20 Million Dollars more from the new Owners, in Advertising, PSAs, or similar Programming, for a total of over $36 Million Dollars. This is another in a long line of VICTORIES over the Fake News Media, who we are holding to account for their widespread fraud and deceit,” he continued.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump officially announces a settlement with CBS equating to $36 MILLION over 60 Minutes’ deceptive editing of Kamala’s interview
Warren has also since announced her intention to introduce new legislation aimed at curbing “potential corruption” by increasing transparency and oversight of donations made to presidential libraries.
In May, Warren, joined by Senator Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) and Senator Ron Wyden (D–Or.), addressed a formal letter to Shari Redstone, the non-executive chair and controlling shareholder of Paramount Global. The senators argued that Paramount’s actions constitute unlawful conduct, while suggesting that the company could be offering favorable treatment to the Trump administration in return for regulatory approval of its proposed merger.
“Paramount just paid Trump a bribe for merger approval,” Wyden wrote. “When Democrats retake power, I’ll be first in line calling for federal charges. In the meantime, state prosecutors should make the corporate execs who sold out our democracy answer in court, today.”
“The decision by the Redstone family, the major owners of Paramount, to settle a bogus lawsuit with President Trump over a ’60 Minutes’ report he did not like is an extremely dangerous precedent in terms of both the First Amendment and government extortion,” Sanders said in a statement. “Paramount’s decision will only embolden Trump to continue attacking, suing and intimidating the media which he has labeled ‘the enemy of the people.’ It is a dark day for independent journalism and freedom of the press — an essential part of our democracy. It is a victory for a president who is attempting to stifle dissent and undermine American democracy.”
“Make no mistake about it. Trump is undermining our democracy and rapidly moving us towards authoritarianism and the billionaires who care more about their stock portfolios than our democracy are helping him do it,” Sanders concluded.
Paramount Global has consistently maintained that the lawsuit “is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case.”
Additionally, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has similarly stated that the lawsuit bears no direct connection to the agency’s review.
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