The Freedom of Press Group Media Advocacy Foundation sent a warning letter to Paramount Mogul Shari Redstone, presenting plans to submit a lawsuit if the media company resolves a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against its subsidiary CBS.
“Corporations that have their own messages should not deal with the resolution of unfounded lawsuits, which clearly violate the first amendment,” said the director of the Seth Stern Foundation Foundation in a statement.
Stern issued a warning, asking for arrest of disputes on Friday afternoon, demanding the preservation of all documents regarding the potential Trump agreement and calling the company not to settle. The non -profit organization is able to look for compensation because it owns the Paramount campaign. He plans to act on behalf of himself and other shareholders, claiming that the settlement would determine the management of the company – securing their trust duties and wasting corporate assets, engaging in the behavior that US senators and others could be an unlawful bribe, which does not meet the principle of a business judge. They did not immediately react to the requests for comment.
In October last year, President Trump sued the subsidiaries of Paramount CBS Broadcasting and CBS Interactive, claiming that the interview with the former vice president of Kamal Harris, who was broadcast on the long -term CBS News program 60 minutes He has been deceptively edited in a way that is an election interference. Initially, looking for compensation in the amount of $ 10 billion, Trump changed the claim in February to ask for $ 20 billion. Paramount Global has a market capitalization of around $ 8.5 billion.
Although the most vital Previously called The “afront to the first amendment” claim in a legal submitting for the purpose of dismissing in March, apparently tried to solve; The company has a potentially lucrative connection while waiting for the Hollywood studio SkyDance, which would require the signing of the Trump administration.
Last week, democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron sent out an expert letter Redstone looking for information about all potential settlements, increasing the fears that it would be bribe. “If Paramount officials perform these licenses in Quid Pro Quo, influencing President Trump or other administrative officials,” they wrote: “They can break the law.”
CBS has been based on a potential settlement for months. Long -term 60 minutes Executive producer Bill Owens suddenly gave up in April, and the president and general director of CBS News Wendy McMahon resigned at the beginning of this month. “It becomes clear that the company and I do not agree with the path forward” wrote In a personnel note at that time.
Trump’s lawsuit against Paramount is not an isolated attack on the media. He sued ABC News, belonging to the Walt Disney Company, for defamation in March 2024 due to the comments of the anchor George Stephanopoulos depicting the president as “similar as rape.” (The federal jury recognized President Trump responsible for sexual assault in a civilian matter in 2023, but not rape. regulated Case in December. At the end of April, Trump Published comments On its Truth Social Social Platform, which seemed to threaten the Fresh York Times, the possibility of legal action in the future.