“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley said a potential settlement between Paramount, CBS’s parent company, and President Trump in the wake of his lawsuit against the media company would have a negative impact on the news organization’s reputation.
“It will be very damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the reputation of those companies,” Pelley said during an appearance on CNN. “I think many of the law firms that made deals with the White House are at this very moment regretting it. That doesn’t look like their finest hour.”
Pelley had been asked about Trump’s suit against “60 Minutes,” which stems from an interview it aired with former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall, a conversation Trump and his attorneys argue was intentionally edited to cast his challenger in a positive light.
Paramount has contended the suit is without merit and vowed to fight Trump’s allegations in court, though rumors of a potential settlement between the two sides have grown in recent weeks.
Speculation that Paramount might eventually settle with Trump has led to the ouster of two of CBS’s top news executives and sparked widespread frustration at the outlet.
Paramount is at the same time trying to push through a mega merger with fellow media giant Skydance, a deal that will need approval from the Trump administration.
Pelley, during a recent “60 Minutes” broadcast, called out the network’s parent company over the apparent ouster of the two executives and said Paramount had begun to monitor the Sunday evening news program’s coverage of the Trump administration “in new ways.”
During his weekend interview with CNN, Pelley said Trump’s lawsuit targeting CBS and other media outlets is making it harder for them to do their reporting work.
“What has surprised me the most …. is how pervasive the fear is that when we at 60 Minutes call people and say, hey, will you do an interview with us,” he said. “They’re telling us ‘no.’ ”
