California state Sens. Tom Umberg and Josh Becker are asking former CBS leaders to testify in a probe into Paramount’s offer to settle a legal fight with President Donald Trump for $15 million.
The Democrats said in a letter Friday that they are opening an inquiry into whether the CBS parent company violated California anti-competitiveness law or breached ethical boundaries by caving to a “frivolous” suit. In the letter to former CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon and ex-60 Minutes Executive Producer Bill Owens the senators questioned if the company considered settling “to secure favorable regulatory treatment” and said such behavior would raise “deeply troubling implications not just for journalism, but for the rule of law and the integrity of corporate governance.”
Semafor first reported the development.
Key context: Owens left the network in April citing concerns about his show’s independence amid the legal battle with Trump, in which the president claimed an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris was deceptively edited. Paramount officials disputed the claim but nevertheless offered Trump a $15 million settlement, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Trump reportedly refused the deal, seeking more money.
McMahon abruptly stepped down from her role earlier this month, saying she disagreed with the company on how to proceed.
Details: Umberg and Becker, who chair their chamber’s judiciary and energy committees, respectively, raised concerns that the settlement could be illegally anticompetitive, putting in-state media outlets that could not afford such a settlement at a disadvantage. They also said they’re seeking to find out whether Paramount violated federal anti-bribery laws, breached its duty to shareholders or misused corporate funding by offering it to Trump.
“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,” they wrote to the former CBS leaders.
A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.
What’s next: The senators haven’t yet set a date for the joint hearing, but said it would be only the beginning of their inquiry and asserted their committees’ subpoena power under state law.
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