How Paramount’s $16-million Trump settlement came together

By early spring, Paramount Global was in a crisis. President Trump was joking from his request for an amount of money and an apology from the company to settle a lawsuit for a “60 -minute” interview for CBS News with Kamala Harris. Journalists in the broadcaster Store were a rebellion against the parent company.

Meanwhile, Paramount’s Board of Directors has faced smart pressure, as a widespread settlement is seen as a prerequisite for the government’s approval to sell the company worth $ 8 billion to David Ellison’s Skydance Media, or the deal will collapse.

Then a new emergency broke out.

On May 4, CBS A broadcast Solid “60 minutes” hard This took the goal of Trump’s targeting of law firms. The correspondent Scott Belley established the report, who relied heavily on an interview with a senior Trump adviser – senior Hillary Clinton’s senior adviser Mark Elias.

Trump was angry. He threatened an additional lawsuit program that claims to be defamed, according to persons close to the situation who were not allowed to comment.

The scenes drama will eventually be crowned with Paramount’s consensus to pay $ 16 million to end the president’s battle over the amendments to Harris’s interview in October, which Trump claimed was manipulated to enhance the chances of the president at the time. Trump’s suit demanded $ 20 billion as compensation.

The deal resulted from months from the back between a group of power players who have competing interests: President, Mogul Shari Redstone, Tech Billionaire Larry Ellson and his son DavidHollywood Undersecretary, Super Ari Emmanuel, CBS News, Windy McMahon and Jeff Shell, a former NBCUNIVERSAL president with Redbird Capital Partners, who supports Skydance Elison.

The settlement, which was approved by the President late on Tuesday, included a commitment to Trump to drop his claims and not to file a “60 -minute” broadcasting suit, according to the sources and a prominent statement.

Paramount said that she had agreed to pay the legal fees of Trump. The remaining $ 16 million settlement will go to its future presidential library.

“Larry Ellson is a friend of mine. He is a great man,” Trump told reporters in the wake of Thursday night in Iowa. “I think it will run CBS well, and I think it is making a good deal to buy it.”

The informed sources said that the besieged company behind “Mission: Impossible” and “Yellowstone” two crowds during the negotiations, with the previous Trump team requesting compensation of $ 100 million.

The company also refused to apologize for CBS reports or editing them, and a position to protect its journalistic ethics and the rights of the first amendment.

“This Paramount allows focus on its potential sale, and CBS can maintain its principles,” said C. Kerry Fields, Professor of Business Law at USC Marshall School. “But the principle has its price, and there was definitely one group here.”

The eight-month skirmishes with Trump encouraged a harsh light on Paramount’s weaknesses and deep divisions within the company and its potential new owners.

Paramount was a narrow window to reach a truce. The company wanted to finish the settlement before Wednesday, when Paramount held the annual shareholder meeting Three new members joined the council.

“this [settlement] “Everything was related to survival – it was dark,” said Fields.

Initially, the sale of Paramount to the Elison Family seemed to serve as a sure bet. Larry Ellson, co -founder of Oracle Corp, is close to Trump and his company, a potential buyer of Tiktok, another deal of attention to the president. Paramount Sikids, It struck a year agoOne of the original Hollywood studios and landscapes of the entertainment can be reconfigured.

Redstone and her family agreed to separate from Holdings Holdings, and National Amusements Inc. , And control Paramount shares. The family’s comic resources were an incentive for sale. Redstone borrowed severely to meet debt obligations, including a $ 186 million loan from Larry Ellison last year. The family is waiting for the money from selling excellent and national themes to Ellisons and Redbird, a private stock company.

But an unexpected mistake changed the deal cycle.

Last fall, “60 minutes” called Trump and Harris to participate in pre -acting interviews. Trump agreed, then retreated. CBS News advanced with Harris sitting.

Reporter Bill Whitker Harris asked about Rocky’s relations with the Biden administration with the Israeli Prime Minister. Producers used different parts of their answer to two programs: a complex response at Sunday morning “face the nation”, and a more brief part in “60 minutes”.

Trump and his supporters in contradiction. They accused CBS of doctorate in the interview. CBS News denied this claim, saying that the amendments were routine.

Days before the elections, Trump sued Amarello, Texas, to ensure the supervision of the case by a judge appointed by Trump.

A lawsuit claimed that the amendment of “60 minutes” is an interference in the elections – “distorting the malicious, deceitful and large news affiliated with the confusion, deception and misleading of the public”, with the words of the case.

President Donald Trump at the Oval Office.

(Bloomberg)

The first amendment experts said that the issue had no advantage; Some believed that it was the campaign’s trick.

A few days later, Shell, CEO of Redbird who will become PARAMONT, took a phone call to CBS executives. Shell suggested “60 minutes” to issue Harris’s full interview version in an attempt to transparently, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Executive officials in the news rejected and withdrew a clear division between some high -ranking executives and Ellison team.

These Paramount executive managers have stumbled on Shall’s involvement, including the comment he made to McMahon late last year, saying that the company will eventually have to settle. Skydance said it has an agreement with Paramount that gives Elison and Shell the ability to give inputs on major work problems – even before Paramount.

A spokesman for Shell refused to comment.

The role of Shell, which was overthrown of his previous role that runs NBCunivesal after recognizing an inappropriate relationship with surfaces, was controversial. South Park representatives of “South Park” accused him of bypassing his authority and interfering with long negotiations on their comprehensive deal and the rights of long -term cardboard. The representative of Shallal denied this accusation.

Trump scored previous victories over media organizations. In December, the Walt Disney Company agreed to pay $ 16 million, including one million dollars for law fetches, to end a successful dispute from the description of the anchor of ABC George Stefanopoulos of Trump’s responsibility in the Civil Court case. Press advocates.

Paramount held a company. But she failed to reject the Trump case or move to a New York court, where CBS and “60 minutes” are based.

So the company was in a box. Selling to Skydance requires approval of the Federal Communications Committee to transfer CBS TV licenses to Elisons, and this approval was far -fetched.

In one of his first movements as Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee, Trump Brendan Carr has made whether CBS modifications to Harris interview had risen to the level of news distortion – the essence of Trump’s suit.

In February, CBS requested a raw version of Harris’s interview and unproductive shots. CBS complied and the article showed that Harris was precisely transferred.

Texas judge ordered Paramount lawyers and Trump’s lawyers in mediation. The talks started on April 30.

At the end of this week, “60 minutes” reported on Trump, law firms, Riling Redstone and others. The sources said that the Trump team and Bramont were already far apart.

Soon, CBS News and Stations Pressing Windy McMahon has been forced to go out. Informed sources have attributed their departure to months of conflict and continuous criticism from Redstone, who is the Paramount Chair. McMahon has also made notifications, including the supervision of an unsuccessful restart of “CBS Evening News”.

It follows her exit Bill OwensExecutive product for a long time for “60 minutes”, Those who fought efforts to stability.

On the day McMahon was expelled, the United States generates Elizabeth Warren (MAS), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Ron Widin (D-Or) they dropped the sulfo in Redston. In a message on May 19, they warned that PAAROUNTONT board members risked charges of possible bribery if they paid Trump to settle the lawsuit as a way to win the approval of the Federal Communications Committee for the Skydance deal.

By early June, the Redstone team and the Ellison team were concerned.

Emmanuel, the agent, People familiar with this issue said, which intervened to help restore the deal on the right track. Emmanuel is Trump’s former talent agent and one of Ellison’s closest allies.

On June 7, Elson met briefly with Trump at the UFC event in New Jersey. Emmanuel is the CEO of WME Group and CEO of Mother UFC, TKO.

According to a source, Emmanuel, Dana White, the CEO of Trump at UFC, helped facilitate Ellison’s meeting with the president, who took place steps from the appraiser of the fighters.

People close to Ellison and Emmanuel refused to discuss Ellison’s interactions with the president. Skydance, Redstone and Emanuel representatives refused to comment on this story.

Finally, a penetration came when Trump provided support to Ellison and Skydance, although he continued to bomb Harris and CBS News.

“Elson is great,” Trump from the White House Park said On June 18. “He will do a great job with her.” Late Thursday, Trump described David Ellison as a “wonderful young man.”

Meanwhile, the watch was knocking. Redston and others wanted the Board of Directors to deal with the settlement before the shareholders meeting, when one of the directors resigned, and three new members joined the board of directors.

Redston responded to the vote, but made her desires known.

The settlement was finally reached about 10 hours before switching the PARAMOUNT panel.

A person close to the legal effort said that the agreement “obtained the finish line” due to Trump’s desalination. His team expects to run Paramount Networks in the end millions of dollars of free commercials, or public service ads, to support Trump’s reasons, including combating anti -Semitism and increasing border security.

Trump also referred to the alleged side deal.

“We have made a deal for about $ 16 million in addition to $ 16 million – or perhaps more than that in the advertisement,” Trump said. So “So [the settlement] It is similar to $ 32 to 35 million dollars. “

Paramount said it had agreed to a $ 16 million settlement. .

“Paramount settlement with President Trump does not include PSAS,” the company said in a statement. “Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or obligations for President Trump, unlike those stipulated in the settlement suggested by the mediator and before the parties.”

Skydance refused to comment. Emmanuel did not respond to the messages.

Paramount said the settlement contains another item paid by Trump.

The advocates of the first amendment of the deal were thwarted. Also, Trump’s enemies, including members of the Senate who pledged to investigate the deal for bribery.

Sanders, the American Senator, said in a statement that Paramount’s move to “settling a false lawsuit with President Trump on a” 60 -minute “report he did not like was a very dangerous precedent. “Paramount’s decision will only encourage Trump to continue to attack, prosecute the media.”