Trump Lawyers Ask to Extend Deadlines in $20 Billion CBS Lawsuit, Citing ‘Active Settlement Discussions’

Attorneys for President Donald Trump have requested a deadline extension in his $20 billion legal battle with CBS, citing their engagement in “active settlement discussions, including continued mediation” with the network.

Per the Friday filing with the Texas federal court, the president’s legal team is asking to push the deadline to file a response to CBS and Paramount’s motion to compel from June 16 to June 30, the deadline for the network and media giant to file a reply to Trump’s response from June 23 to July 7, and the deadline for Trump to file a motion to compel from June 30 to July 14. They also asked that Paramount and CBS’ response to a motion to compel from Trump be due July 28.

“The Parties are not seeking to extend any deadlines regarding the pending motions to dismiss, and Defendants intend to file their reply on or before June 23, 2025. Nor are the Parties seeking to extend any other deadlines in the Court’s Scheduling Order,” the filing adds. “Plaintiffs’ counsel has conferred with counsel for Defendants, and all Parties have consented to this motion in writing.”

Trump’s lawsuit takes aim at an Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, which he has claimed was deceptively edited to make her look good.

In a legal filing last month asking the court to deny Paramount’s motion to dismiss the suit, Trump alleged the Harris interview caused him “mental anguish and confusion” and that its “false advertising and tampering” withheld viewers’ attention from him and his social media platform Truth Social, resulting in a decrease in value for Trump Media and Technology Group and his other media holdings.

CBS News has maintained that Trump’s accusations of deceitful editing were false, explaining that the promo shown on “Face the Nation” used a longer section of Harris’ answer. It also turned over the transcript and camera footage from the interview to the FCC as part of the agency’s investigation into allegations of “news distortion.” In a March filing to dismiss the Trump suit, CBS called it “an affront to the First Amendment” and “without basis in law or fact.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump recently shot down Paramount’s offer to settle the lawsuit for $15 million, with the president aiming to get at least $25 million and an apology.

The high stakes legal battle comes as Paramount’s pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media awaits regulatory approval from the FCC due to a required transfer of broadcast licenses of the media giant’s 28 owned-and-operated local TV stations.

The deal, which executives have said would close in the first half of 2025, recently triggered its first automatic 90-day extension after failing to close by April 7.

Democratic Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden issued a warning to Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone last month that reaching a settlement in exchange for regulatory approval could violate federal anti-bribery laws. The California State Senate has also launched an investigation into the matter and invited former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens and former CBS News president Wendy McMahon to testify.

FCC chairman Brendan Carr has argued that the settlement talks with Trump are unrelated to the agency’s review of the Skydance deal. But he has warned that “all options remain on the table” in the agency’s ongoing investigation into alleged “news distortion” related to the Harris interview, including potentially revoking CBS’ broadcast license if the network is found to have violated the agency’s public interest standard.

Paramount’s settlement talks come as Disney previously paid $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit Donald Trump brought against ABC News and star anchor George Stephanopoulos. Meta also paid $25 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit about being kicked off Facebook and Instagram after the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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