Lawyers for Donald Trump and CBS–Paramount Global asked a judge to put a pause on proceedings until July 3, announcing that they were in advanced stages of settlement talks.“The Parties respectfully submit that good cause to stay all proceedings exists because the Parties are engaged in good faith, advanced, settlement negotiations,” the parties said in a filing on Monday in federal court in Texas.The latest court filing is an indication that a settlement is imminent.The Wall Street Journal reported last week that a mediator had proposed a $20 million settlement.Trump sued CBS in October, claiming that a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to boost her election chances. He revised the lawsuit in February, seeking $20 billion in damages and claiming that the 60 Minutes broadcast unfairly diverted traffic from his media properties, including Truth Social. Trump sued under state and federal laws typically used in false advertising claims.CBS has said that edits to the interview were not deceptive. In a filing last week, its attorneys said that the lawsuit is meritless, and that its broa-Lawyers for Donald Trump and CBS–Paramount Global asked a judge to put a pause on proceedings udcast and a preview on Face the Nation were protected by the First Amendment. But parent Paramount Global is seeking Trump administration approval for its merger with Skydance. The transaction has yet to garner approval from the FCC.Paramount Global’s annual shareholders meeting is on Wednesday, and the fate of the merger is front and center.The prospect of a settlement has been the source of a great deal of consternation within CBS News, which in recent months has seen the resignation of the executive producer of 60 Minutes, Bill Owens, and the exit of the president of CBS News and Stations, Wendy McMahon.A group of Democratic senators have warned that a settlement may be in violation of a federal bribery statute. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board warned of a settlement last week, including that Democrats could launch an inquiry into the transaction should they win back the House or the Senate in the midterms.The editorial read, “The better alternative for Paramount and its reputation? Win the legal case, vindicate its CBS journalists and the First Amendment, and trust that the FCC has enough integrity to operate as something more than the President’s personal protection racket.”
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