CBS parent company Paramount moved to dismiss a lawsuit lobbed by President Donald Trump over an allegedly unfair "60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a pair of Thursday motions, Paramount argued the suit should be dismissed for multiple reasons. One motion argued filing in the Northern District of Texas venue was a blatant attempt at "forum shopping." The other argued that the suit should be tossed on First Amendment grounds.
“This lawsuit is an affront to the First Amendment and is without basis in law or fact,” attorneys for Paramount wrote in the latter motion. “They not only ask for $20 billion in damages but also seek an order directing how a news organization may exercise its editorial judgment in the future.”
As for the Texas court in which Trump filed suit, Paramount alleges that “none of the Defendants is subject to personal jurisdiction in Texas on these claims. CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a New York corporation, CBS Interactive Inc. and Paramount Global are Delaware corporations, and all three have their principal place of business in New York.”
The network released the full, unedited interview with Harris last month amid pressure from Trump’s FCC. But the president doubled down on the speech-chilling assault, telling reporters that edits to the interview “probably did affect the election” in his second term’s first Cabinet meeting.
The network's opposition to the suit sets them apart from other news organizations in Trump's second term. Disney-owned ABC News settled a $15 million suit late last year after Trump’s election win, apologizing for host George Stephanopoulos’ on-air claim that Trump had been found “liable for rape.”
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta also settled a $25 million suit stemming from its removal of Trump’s accounts for violating the platform's terms of service.
Shares