Paramount Shamelessly Signs Up to Toe the Administration's Line, Capitulating to Trump's Corrupt Shakedown

Jul 04, 2025

Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, has capitulated in a bogus lawsuit filed by Donald Trump, agreeing to pay a $16 million bribe to his presidential library—essentially, a Trump slush fund—in exchange for approval of a merger that puts the company in Trump-friendly hands. But it’s worse than that.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The settlement, which the president approved late Tuesday, included a commitment by Trump to drop his claims and not sue over the May “60 Minutes” broadcast, according to sources and a Paramount statement.
Paramount said it agreed to pay Trump’s legal fees. The remainder of the $16-million settlement will go toward his future presidential library.
“Larry Ellison is a friend of mine. He’s a great guy,” Trump told reporters following a Thursday night rally in Iowa. “I think he’s going to run CBS really well, and I think he’s making a good deal to buy it.” …
One person close to the legal effort said the agreement “got over the finish line” due to a sweetener for Trump. His team anticipates that Paramount networks eventually will run millions of dollars worth of free commercials, or public service announcements, in support of Trump causes, including combating antisemitism and increasing border security.
Trump also referenced the alleged side deal.
“We did a deal for about $16 million plus $16 million — or maybe more than that in advertising,” Trump said. “So [the settlement] is like $32- to maybe $35 million.”

Paramount has denied the extra “side deal,” though it has also been reported elsewhere. It wouldn’t be the first time someone makes a “deal” with Trump only to have him alter it later to demand more. Either way, it is clear that CBS will no longer be able to claim a shred of independence from the Trump administration.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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