Senators question Paramount's Redstone over '60 Minutes' settlement attempts with Trump

(Reuters) -A group of senators sent a letter to Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone on Monday, seeking information about the CBS News owner's efforts to settle a lawsuit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden are questioning whether Paramount's potential attempts to resolve the high profile lawsuit could violate federal anti-bribery laws, according to the letter seen by Reuters.

CBS News faces a $20 billion lawsuit from Trump over its editing of a "60 Minutes" interview in October 2024 with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

This lawsuit is seen as a major roadblock to the Paramount and Skydance Media merger, according to some analysts.

Paramount has also entered mediation in April to try and settle the lawsuit. The $8.4 billion merger requires approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The federal agency has authority over the transaction because it needs to approve the transfer of the broadcast television licenses held by CBS. The deal was extended for 90 days, as the companies await regulatory approval.

A spokesperson for Paramount Global declined to comment on the letter but has previously said that the "lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) approval process."

Meanwhile, CBS News President and Chief Executive Wendy McMahon is stepping down from her position, telling staffers that she and the company have differing views on the path forward.

Bill Owens, the network's long-time executive producer of "60 Minutes," also announced his departure over editorial independence concerns.

"Paramount appears to have begun overseeing CBS's content, presumably in order to screen it for content that could anger the Trump Administration," the letter said. A spokesperson for Redstone also declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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