A deal to settle a lawsuit from President Trump against CBS News over its handling of a 60 Minutes interview could be close.
Lawyers for both sides moved to pause all proceedings until Thursday, citing “good faith” and “advanced” settlement discussions, according to a court document filed on Monday.
The move comes ahead of the merger termination deadline on July 7. If the deal isn’t completed by then, a second 90-day extension would expire on Oct. 6. In the scenario that the transaction isn’t greenlit at that point, it’s believed that Paramount and Skydance will abandon the deal rather than seek another extension.
The holdup involves the Federal Communication Commission’s refusal to transfer Paramount’s broadcast licenses. The dispute has influenced Paramount’s approach to a lawsuit accusing it of deceptively editing an interview with Kamala Harris.
A mediator recently proposed a $20 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit, with the majority going to Trump’s presidential foundation, The Wall Street Journal reported, which noted that Trump has insisted on an apology. It’s been reported that CBS offered as much as $15 million.
Trump’s legal team faced a Monday deadline to reply to CBS’ motion to compel discovery.
“The Parties respectfully submit that good cause to stay all proceedings exists because the Parties are engaged in good faith, advanced, settlement negotiations,” reads the filing.
Absent a deal, the court is expected to rule on CBS’ bid to dismiss the lawsuit in the coming months. In that filing, the network argued that the complaint is an “affront to the First Amendment” and that Trump is looking to “punish a news organization for constitutionally protected editorial judgments they do not like.”
The pathway to Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount getting approved involves a settlement of the 60 Minutes lawsuit, after which the FCC will approve the transfer of the broadcast licenses.
