Harry Litman - Paramount Caves - and We All Lose

When Donald Trump sued CBS and Paramount for $10 billion in October of 2024 for supposedly deceptive editing of Kamala Harris’s response to a question about Middle East policy, the case was roundly ridiculed. Multiple commentators noted that the First Amendment barred Trump’s claims, which they dismissed as an abusive “political stunt.” Reason Magazine dismissed it as a “laughable lawsuit.”

Thanks to Paramount, however, Trump now gets the last laugh — and at the expense of essential First Amendment values. In other words, all of us.

Paramount announced Tuesday that it was settling this joke of a lawsuit for $16 million — to go toward Trump's future presidential library.

The widespread perception is that Paramount, the parent company of CBS and 60 Minutes, which ran the clips of Harris, ponied up what is in effect ransom money to ensure that a proposed $8 billion merger with Skydance Media would go through. To put a finer point on it, Shari Redstone, who owns the controlling stake in Paramount Global, stands to reap over $2 billion — possibly much more — from the merger.

https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/paramount-caves-and-we-all-lose