President Trump said his settlement with Paramount Global is worth more than twice the company’s stated figure of $16 million — confirming an exclusive report by The Post.
The two sides last week ended their legal battle over alleged deceptive editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, with CBS’ parent company agreeing to fork over the same amount paid by Disney-owned ABC News in a defamation suit brought by Trump last year.
The Paramount settlement, however, includes a side deal between Skydance CEO David Ellison and Trump to run between $15 million and $20 million in public service announcements promoting causes supported by the president, The Post’s Charles Gasparino reported.
The long-stalled $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance is awaiting regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
“We did a deal for about $16 million plus $16 million, or maybe more than that in advertising,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews late Thursday, according to a White House pool report.
“So it’s a combination of 16 plus 16-plus. So it’s like $32 [million] to maybe $35 million.”
Sources close to the deal told Gasparino: “There is an anticipation of a mid-eight-figure sum that will be allocated by the network to PSA advertisements and other broadcast transmissions that support conservative causes supported by President Trump.”
Paramount has firmly denied this characterization.
In a statement issued last Wednesday, the company said: “Contrary to some news reports or media speculation, Paramount’s settlement with President Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs.”
“Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump other than those set forth in the settlement proposed by the mediator and accepted by the parties.”
A Paramount spokesperson referred The Post to its previous statement.
The Post has sought comment from Skydance.
Paramount confirmed that the $16 million settlement covers a payment to Trump’s future presidential library and legal fees, and that “60 Minutes” will release interview transcripts with presidential candidates after they have aired. The company also emphasized that it will not issue an apology.
Paramount has also denied any connection between the settlement and the pending merger with Skydance Media, the independent studio behind recent hits like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossibe — The Final Reckoning.”
David Ellison — the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a longtime Trump ally — has been in contact with Trump’s legal team in recent weeks, The Post previously reported.
The president’s legal team did not reference public service announcements in its own July 1 statement, which called the settlement “another win for the American people.”
“CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle,” a spokesperson for the president said.
Trump’s original lawsuit, filed late last year, sought $10 billion in damages, later doubled, over the “60 Minutes” sitdown with Harris shortly before the election.
CBS has denied wrongdoing, stating that the edits followed standard journalistic practice. The network eventually released full transcripts and video to the FCC.
High-level negotiations surrounding the settlement played out over several months and included two senior CBS News executives parting ways with the company.
Paramount first offered a $15 million settlement in May, in line with other legal payouts made by media companies in cases involving Trump. But Trump initially demanded over $100 million and later reduced his ask to around $50 million, according to people familiar with the talks.
Paramount executives, wary of facing Democrat-led investigations into possible bribery charges, consulted legal counsel from Gibson Dunn as they weighed a final deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Behind the scenes, pressure to settle was mounting. Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, recused herself but pushed directors to end the uncertainty, according to the Journal.
Hollywood executive Ari Emanuel, a close associate of Redstone and Ellison, reportedly also intervened to urge a resolution.
The Redstone family is expected to walk away with around $2 billion if the merger is approved.
The agreement was announced late Wednesday.
George Cheeks, who oversees CBS as one of Paramount’s three CEOs, told investors at Paramount’s annual shareholder meeting last week that the decision to resolve the dispute was to avoid “the high and somewhat unpredictable cost of legal defense.”
