US senator urges bribery probe over Trump-Paramount settlement
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Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, has called for a full investigation into Paramount's reported US$16 million settlement with US President Donald Trump.
PHOTOS: AFP, EPA-EFE
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- Senator Warren requests bribery probe into Paramount's settlement with Trump, suspecting it influences a pending merger approval.
- Paramount settled a "frivolous lawsuit" with Trump involving a CBS interview for US$16 million donated to Trump's library.
- Critics view Paramount's actions as prioritising profits over journalistic independence and surrendering to extortion, undermining press freedom.
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WASHINGTON - A US senator renewed calls July 2 for a bribery probe into Paramount following its reported US$16 million (S$20 million) settlement
The president had sued the CBS News parent company
The suit is described by Mr Trump’s critics as part of a broader assault on press freedom that has seen him bar the Associated Press from the Oval Office and sue other media organisations over their coverage.
Paramount nevertheless entered into mediation in a bid to placate Mr Trump, as it seeks to close its US$8 billion merger
“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,” said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat.
“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.”
Ms Warren was among three senators who wrote to Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone in May with bribery concerns over the company’s efforts to settle the suit, and calling for a congressional probe.
Republicans control both chambers of Congress, limiting the power of Democrats to investigate or compel answers from witnesses.
The senators’ letter came after CBS News head Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens announced they were quitting over Paramount’s handling of the showdown with Mr Trump.
‘Paramount’s surrender’
The company – which did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment – initially called the suit “completely without merit” and had sought to have it dismissed.
“The Trump administration’s level of sheer corruption is appalling and Paramount should be ashamed of putting its profits over independent journalism,” Ms Warren added.
Mr Trump accuses CBS of airing two different snippets from the same answer that Ms Harris, then vice-president, gave about Israel, to help her in her election campaign.
The Republican billionaire sued in October 2024, alleging that the interview violated a Texas consumer protection law.
Legal experts have argued that the lawsuit would have been an easy victory in court for CBS, which made public an unedited transcript of the Harris interview.
And media watchers have pointed out that Mr Trump routinely takes part in interviews that are edited for all manner of reasons, often in his favour.
The US$16 million will go towards Mr Trump’s future presidential library rather than to him personally, according to a Paramount statement published by the Los Angeles Times on July 1.
ABC News, owned by Disney, agreed to donate a similar amount to the library in its own settlement with Mr Trump in late 2024.
Mr Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called the settlement “a sad day for press freedom.”
“This was a frivolous lawsuit and the payment being described as a ‘settlement’ bears no relation to Paramount’s actual legal exposure in the case, which was negligible,” he said in a statement.
“Paramount should have fought this extortionate lawsuit in court, and it would have prevailed. Now Trump’s presidential library will be a permanent monument to Paramount’s surrender, a continual reminder of its failure to defend freedoms that are essential to our democracy.” AFP
