Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) blasted Paramount Global after the company agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump.
The settlement comes as Paramount is working to secure a multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance, a deal that will need approval from Trump’s government regulators.
“It is a dark day for freedom of the press. Paramount’s decision to settle with Trump will only embolden him to continue his attack on the media,” Sanders wrote in a statement on Wednesday. “Trump is undermining our democracy and moving us towards authoritarianism, and the billionaires are helping him do it.”
Trump had sued Paramount and CBS News over a “60 Minutes” interview it conducted with former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall, a conversation the president’s attorneys alleged was intentionally edited to cast her in a more coherent light.
Many legal observers saw the president’s case as on shaky ground, though rumors of a settlement between the two sides had percolated in media and political circles for weeks.
As part of the settlement, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to Trump’s future presidential library and release full transcripts of future presidential candidates.
Sanders is not the only lawmaker blasting Paramount over its settlement.
Sen. Ron Wyden (R-Ore.) issued a statement of his own calling the agreement a “bribe” and vowing to launch an investigation into the matter.
“When Democrats retake power, I’ll be first in line calling for federal charges,” he said. “In the meantime, state prosecutors should make the corporate execs who sold out our democracy answer in court, today.”
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