Trump Says He's ‘Honored' to Be Suing ‘60 Minutes' and CBS in Latest Truth Social Rant, Urges FCC to ‘Impose Maximum Fines and Punishment'
President Donald Trump has once again slammed '60 Minutes' and CBS in a rant on Truth Social amid his $20 billion lawsuit over the news program's pre-election interview with Kamala Harris.
In a post on Sunday night, Trump lashed out about the latest '60 Minutes' episode, which featured an interview with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelesnkyy and a segment about the president's interest in acquiring Greenland.
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'Almost every week, 60 Minutes, which is being sued for Billions of Dollars for the fraud they committed in the 2024 Presidential Election with their Interview of Failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, mentions the name 'TRUMP' in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend's 'BROADCAST' tops them all,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. He proceeded to claim that the war in Ukraine 'would never have happened if the 2020 Election had not been RIGGED, in other words, if I were President,' and said the story on Greenland cast 'our Country, as led by me, falsely, inaccurately and fraudulently.'
He continued: 'I am so honored to be suing 60 Minutes, CBS Fake News and Paramount, over their fraudulent, beyond recognition, reporting.'
Representatives for CBS and '60 Minutes' did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment.
Trump sued CBS, which is owned by Paramount, a few days before the November election, alleging that the '60 Minutes' interview with Harris was deceptively edited and therefore violated a Texas consumer protection law. He then expanded the lawsuit earlier this year, alleging an additional claim under the federal Lanham Act and seeking at least $20 billion in damages. In March, Paramount and CBS filed two motions to throw out the lawsuit, calling it an 'affront to the First Amendment.' And on April 7, their lawyers filed another motion asking the plaintiffs to produce the documents requested in discovery.
'Despite their insistence that discovery move forward, Plaintiffs have shown very little desire to produce their own documents, relying on unfounded objections and delay tactics,' the Paramount and CBS legal team said.
Last week, it was reported that lawyers for Paramount Global and Trump had agreed on a mediator to pursue a settlement in the suit. Meanwhile, Paramount is seeking to merge with Skydance Media, a move that is still pending approval by the FCC. The agency's Trump-appointed commissioner, Brendan Carr, has said that the '60 Minutes' case will be a consideration in the review of the merger.
However, in a previous statement, a Paramount Global spokesperson said that Trump's '60 Minutes' lawsuit 'is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case.'
In his Truth Social post, Trump said he hopes the FCC 'will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this.'
Trump's rant comes as he is facing backlash for imposing tariffs on goods from countries across the world, including up to 145% on those from China. Though the president has argued this will protect U.S. jobs and boost manufacturing, it has sent the world economy into a tailspin.
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