Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone & co-CEO George Cheeks
Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty Images
Lesley Stahl is certain Paramount will pay off Donald Trump to end POTUS’ $20 billion 60 Minutes lawsuit, and Scott Pelley exclaims journalism is under attack. However, if Shari Redstone thinks a big check and an apology for a piece last year from the CBS newsmagazine series he didn’t like is enough to grease the regulatory wheels for Skydance’s $8 billion absorption of the company, the California state Senate has a news alert for her.
In a letter Friday sent to former 60 Minutes EP Bill Owens and ex-CBS News and Stations boss Wendy McMahon, plus the Paramount Global board and the state Attorney General, the heads of the Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee in Sacramento began an investigation to see if Golden State bribery and unfair competition laws are about to be violated.
Whether such a probe from the Democrat-dominated state Senate and voluntary (well, voluntary for now) testimony from Owens and McMahon could derail the big-bucks merger Redstone is banking on is unlikely. Yet, it’s sure to make it uncomfortable for the current owners and the potential future ones.
“Your recent resignations from CBS’s leadership, amid public reports of internal concern about the editorial and ethical implications of the proposed settlement, suggest that you may possess important, first-hand knowledge relevant to our legislative oversight responsibilities,” state Senators Josh Becker and Thomas J. Umberg wrote to Owens and McMahon today. “This hearing will mark the beginning of our inquiry,” the committee chairs added. “Should additional testimony or documentation become necessary, both committees retain full subpoena authority under California law. We respectfully encourage you to participate in this important hearing. Your cooperation will help safeguard the values you have each worked to uphold in your distinguished careers.”
Owens and McMahon both jumped ship from CBS in the past several weeks before they were given a fatal shove by George Cheeks for resisting the motivations of the C-suite and Redstone to tone down critiques of the former Apprentice host and reach a settlement to the lawsuit Trump filed just before last year’s election.
To that, Becker and Umberg want Owens and McMahon to consider the big picture, and Redstone and Skydance’s David Ellison to realize they are dancing with the devil in a red tie.
“Perhaps even more concerning is the potential chilling effect of Paramount’s settlement on investigative and political journalism,” the state politicians declared. “Such a settlement would signal that politically motivated lawsuits can succeed when paired with regulatory threats. It would damage public trust in CBS News and other California-based outlets, diminishing the state’s stature as a national leader in ethical journalism. Paramount’s capitulation would also undermine two essential pillars of a liberal democracy: a free press and an impartial, rule-of-law regulatory system.”
In a recent filing trying to stop Paramount from getting the suit tossed, Trump’s lawyers claimed that the so-called tough guy POTUS suffered “mental anguish” over editing of a 60 Minutes interview with his then-ballot box rival Kamala Harris. Filed in Texas, Trump’s suit alleges violations of the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which typically is used by consumers to pursue false advertising claims.
In the weeks before he was promoted to FCC chair, Brendan Carr said the 60 Minutes complaint was “likely to arise” as part of the Paramount/Skydance merger review. Trying sometimes to out-Trump Trump, Carr has since said earlier this month that his boss’ lawsuit has nothing to do with the merger consideration and regulatory approval – a statement no one with an ounce of real-world knowledge believes for one minute.
Last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) warned Redstone that any deal with Trump could constitute a violation of federal bribery laws. She clearly didn’t care what the trio had to say because earlier this week, MyRumors confirmed the gist of a May 28 Wall Street Journal report that Paramount had offered Trump an “eight-figure” settlement in the $15 million range.
Smelling more lucrative blood in the water, it was a settlement that Trump rejected. Sources say that he wants more money and that talks are ongoing, which means he’ll likely get more money so the Skydance deal can be greenlighted.
Semafor first reported the news of the California state Senate letter.