Scott Pelley slams CBS for settling Trump lawsuit under corporate pressure

A veteran “60 Minutes” journalist criticized the previous owners of its flagship network, CBS, for reaching a settlement with President Donald Trump in his election interference lawsuit.

“Our previous owners at CBS faced political pressure and collapsed,” Scott Pelley said, according to The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr, referring to the legal dispute between Trump and CBS. Pelley was introducing former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens at the National Press Foundation Annual Journalism Awards Dinner last week.

Pelley was referring to former CBS parent Paramount Global, before it merged with Skydance Media, run by David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison.

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In the days leading up to the 2024 presidential election, CBS News aired a “60 Minutes” interview featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Critics at the time noted that his answer to a question about Israel, which first aired in a preview clip for “Face the Nation” in which he mocked conservatives’ “word salad” comments, was replaced with a different answer that aired the following evening on a prime-time election special.

Trump accused the network of election interference and filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the company.

After months of contentious mediation, Paramount and CBS settled Trump’s lawsuit for an amount expected to be more than $30 million, including $16 million up front for Trump’s presidential library.

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“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley accused the previous owners of his parent network, CBS, of reaching a settlement with President Donald Trump in his election interference lawsuit. (David M. Russell/CBS via Getty Images)

Barr also shared that X veteran “60 Minutes” journalist Lesley Stahl claimed that the company would follow up on the resignation of the show’s former executive producer Bill Owens during his contentious legal battle with Trump.

“We would have followed him off the cliff, but he told us not to do that,” Stahl was quoted as saying.

Owens told colleagues in April last year that corporate overreach was affecting his ability to maintain an independent newsroom.

When you resign he said in a note to colleagues“Over the past months, it has become clear that I will not be allowed to run the show as I always have, to make independent decisions for 60 Minutes based on what is right for the audience.”

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Paramount Global and CBS agreed Tuesday to settle President Trump’s $20 billion election interference lawsuit against the network. (Al Drago/Bloomberg, Getty Images)

A representative from CBS did not respond Fox News Digital request for comment.

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Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.