Democratic senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden warned Shari Redstone on Tuesday that settling Donald Trump’s “60 Minutes” lawsuit in order to win approval for Paramount Global’s merger with Skydance Media could violate federal anti-bribery laws.
In a letter sent to Redstone dated May 19 and first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the trio said they were concerned “Paramount appears to be trying to settle a lawsuit that it has assessed as ‘completely without merit,’ and moderating the content of its programs in order to obtain approval of this merger.”
“Under the federal bribery statute, it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value to public officials to influence an official act,” the letter continued. “If Paramount officials make these concessions in a quid pro quo arrangement to influence President Trump or other Administration officials, they may be breaking the law.”
The senators’ letter noted that Paramount Global previously dismissed the lawsuit as “completely without merit” and vowed to “vigorously defend” itself.
Then they asked Redstone address several related questions, among them if she still believes the case is without merit, if she or other company leaders have discussed settling in order to smooth things for the merger, of the company has forced changes on CBS News programming with that in mind, and if further such changes are coming.
The senators also wanted to know Paramount has policies for compliance with federal laws against public corruption and if it has planned any further concessions to Trump.
The senators cited as evidence for their concerns the increasing tumult at CBS news, which has effectively been in conflict with its parent company since Trump was elected for a second term. This included the resignation of CBS News president Wendy McMahon, who quit on Monday after 2 years on the job.
“It’s become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon told employees, capping a tenure that saw increasing interference and public criticism from Redstone.
She followed former “60 Minutes’ executive producer Bill Owens, who quit in April, saying at the time that “my ’60 Minutes’ priorities have always been clear. Maybe not smart, but clear. Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it.”
Trump is suing CBS News and Paramount Global for $20 billion over the “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris last year, a lawsuit experts have called a “sham”. Trump has baselessly accused the show of deceptively editing that interview. Since taking office, Trump’s FCC has also opened an investigation.
The news of the letter comes one day after Sanders, separately, urged Redstone to “not capitulate to Trump’s attack on a free press.” Sanders and Warren were also signatories to a letter sent on May 7 urging Redstone to fight the lawsuit.
The company has not announced a settlement, but on Monday, CNN’s Jake Tapper shared a rumor, per unnamed sources, that Paramount Global could end up paying Trump as $50 million to settle the lawsuit.
The letter demanded answers to a series of questions by June 2, such as:
- Please describe any changes to Paramount’s mediation of 60 Minutes content made to facilitate approval of Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance.
- What other actions is Paramount taking to facilitate approval of its pending merger with kydance?
- Specifically, have Paramount officials discussed settling the lawsuit or making other concessions with President Trump or Trump Administration officials in the context of the merger approval?
You can read the full letter below:
Dear Ms. Redstone:
We write to express serious concern regarding the possibility that media company Paramount Global (Paramount) may be engaging in improper conduct involving the Trump Administration in exchange for approval of its megamerger with Skydance Media (Skydance).
Paramount appears to be trying to settle a lawsuit that it has assessed as “completely without merit,” and moderating the content of its programs in order to obtain approval of this merger.2 Under the federal bribery statute, it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value to public officials to influence an official act.
If Paramount officials make these concessions in a quid pro quo arrangement to influence President Trump or other Administration officials, they may be breaking the law. We request information regarding whether Paramount is making concessions to President Trump in exchange for favorable action by his Administration.
In October 2024, President Trump, in his capacity as a private citizen, sued Paramount subsidiary CBS over alleged “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference.” According to Trump, CBS purposefully edited its 60 Minutes interview with presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in a manner that unfairly boosted Harris’s presidential campaign. CBS responded that Trump’s claims were “false,” and that the lawsuit was “completely without merit and [the network would] vigorously defend against it.”
In March 2025, CBS filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, calling the suit “an affront to the First Amendment and … without basis in law or fact.” Legal experts have affirmed this position, calling Trump’s lawsuit a “misapplication” of the law and an “outrageous violation of First Amendment principles.”
Now, Paramount appears to be walking back its commitments to defend CBS’s First Amendment rights. Months before Trump sued CBS, Paramount and Skydance announced an agreement to merge for $8 billion.
Because the merger will involve the transfer of ownership of CBS broadcast licenses, the Trump Administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must review the deal and has an opportunity to block it. Paramount appears to be attempting to appease the Administration in order to secure merger approval.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr stated President Trump’s CBS lawsuit was “likely to arise in the context of the FCC review of [the Paramount-Skydance] transaction,” and Paramount is reportedly in talks to settle the lawsuit.
President Trump may personally profit from the settlement, as the suit seeks damages for Trump himself, rather than his campaign. Then-candidate Trump originally sought $10 billion in damages, and then increased the number to $20 billion after he took office in 2025. Paramount’s lawyers appear to be in negotiations to lower the amount.
In addition, Paramount appears to have begun overseeing CBS’s content, presumably in order to screen it for content that could anger the Trump Administration. A 60 Minutes correspondent told viewers, “our parent company Paramount is trying to complete a merger. The Trump Administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways.”
In addition, reports have surfaced that Paramount “decided to delay and significantly alter” a Daily Show project to encourage civic participation across the country, “noting internally that the associations with partisan groups carried too much risk at a moment when Trump and his [FCC] have been criticizing coverage at … CBS News.”
CBS’s content moderation has prompted network executives to resign from their positions. Last month, 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens resigned from the program, telling staff, “over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.”
At the time, President of CBS News and Stations Wendy McMahon praised Owens’ decision, and just this week, she, too abruptly announced she was stepping down from her role at CBS, saying, “it’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”
Paramount’s scheme to curry favor with the Trump Administration has compromised journalistic independence and raises serious concerns of corruption and improper conduct. Paramount’s apparent capitulation to President Trump is a sharp contrast from its earlier position that it would “vigorously defend against” the lawsuit. To help determine whether Paramount is acting in accordance with our nation’s anti-bribery laws and maintaining journalistic integrity, we ask that you answer the following questions by June 2, 2025:
- Does Paramount believe the lawsuit filed by then-candidate Trump against CBS has merit?
- Have you, any other executives, and/or Board Members discussed settling the lawsuit? If so, please provide information regarding the timing, nature of, and participants in these discussions, including whether the pending merger with Skydance was discussed.
- Has Paramount evaluated the risk of shareholder derivative litigation from settling the lawsuit?
- Please describe any changes to Paramount’s mediation of 60 Minutes content made to facilitate approval of Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance.
- Has 60 Minutes made changes to its content at the request of anyone at Paramount to facilitate approval of the merger?
- Will Paramount request 60 Minutes to change its content in any way to facilitate approval of the merger? Please describe in what ways.
- What other actions is Paramount taking to facilitate approval of its pending merger with Skydance?
- Specifically, have Paramount officials discussed settling the lawsuit or making other concessions with President Trump or Trump Administration officials in the context of the merger approval?
- Does Paramount have any policies and procedures related to compliance with 18 U.S.C. 201 and any other laws governing public corruption? If so, please provide a copy of those policies and procedures.
