CNN host Brian Stelter — and other liberal members of the media — had a fit following the news of President Donald Trump and CBS reaching a settlement in a lawsuit over the outlet’s deceptive editing of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris right before the election.
The posts from Stelter on the social media site X were in response to an announcement that CBS parent company Paramount had settled with the commander-in-chief for $16 million after editing Harris’ interview on “60 Minutes” last October.
The settlement with CBS also requires “60 Minutes” to release transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates “after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.”
“CBS News did nothing wrong,” Stelter wrote. “But its parent company still paid the price. That’s the moral of the Paramount settlement story. And it’s a story that keeps repeating itself in the Trump era.”
CBS News did nothing wrong. But its parent company still paid the price.
That’s the moral of the Paramount settlement story. And it’s a story that keeps repeating itself in the Trump era. pic.twitter.com/rrLnUV9a1E
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 2, 2025
David Frum of The Atlantic called the deal “Presidential extortion as a tool of power and corruption,” posting an article about the settlement from The New York Times.
Presidential extortion as a tool of power and corruption https://t.co/5UE89WdRdo via @NYTimes
— David Frum (@davidfrum) July 2, 2025
David Enrich, who does investigations for the Times, posted: “In midnight deal, Paramount agrees to pay Trump $16 million to settle lawsuit that most experts viewed as baseless. The deal is the clearest sign yet of Trump’s ability to intimidate major American institutions.”
In midnight deal, Paramount agrees to pay Trump $16 million to settle lawsuit that most experts viewed as baseless. The deal is the clearest sign yet of Trump’s ability to intimidate major American institutions. @BenMullin @LaurenSHirsch @grynbaum https://t.co/DjBNekzHXj
— David Enrich (@davidenrich) July 2, 2025
The move by Paramount came right as they were looking to merge with Skydance Media and marks the third major settlement Trump has scored with media conglomerates since the 2024 election.
The money from CBS will also go toward Trump’s future presidential library, just like the deal with ABC, which agreed to pay $15 million to fund the same endeavor.
Meta — the parent company for Facebook and Instagram — was another victim of Trump’s legal battles. They agreed to a settlement of $25 million to Trump’s future library earlier this year after suspending Trump’s accounts following the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump’s accounts were restored by the company in 2023.
The media is having a meltdown over Trump holding their feet to the fire, and it signals only one thing. They are terrified of not being able to say — and write — whatever they want anymore.
They can no longer mask radical political opinions as news and print lies as fact. They’ve become little more than fodder for ridicule.
There is an even deeper level of fear about slipping up in the future now. If they continue to ignore their duty as journalists, they might actually face some form of accountability.
The consequences include losing their megaphones and even more of their little remaining credibility, not to mention more lawsuits.
The Fourth Estate should have always been held to a higher standard. Reporting the news is a responsibility and a privilege. Certain reporters have earned this privilege, while others have blatantly exploited it.
Perhaps we can look forward to a day when something in the mainstream media is published, and we actually consider believing the person who reported it.
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