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‘The double standard here undermines public trust and demonstrates how Paramount’s capitulation has compromised CBS News’s independence,” Jamie Raskin wrote on Wednesday.
Justin Baragonain New YorkWednesday 03 December 2025 19:40 GMTComments
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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has launched an investigation into CBS News and its parent company Paramount over whether Donald Trump “improperly influenced and coerced” the network’s editing of the president’s recent interview with 60 Minutes.
Raskin announced his probe in a letter sent to CBS News’ recently installed ombudsman Kenneth Weinstein on Wednesday, adding that Weinstein – a one-time Trump appointee and conservative think tank leader – appears to be “acting as a government regulator and censor enforcing Trump’s demands for more pro-Trump content.”
The investigation comes a month after Democrats floated a possible FCC probe over the omission of several exchanges between interviewer Norah O’Connell and the president, including a tense back-and-forth over his pardon of crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, Trump’s boast about Paramount settling his lawsuit over another 60 Minutes interview, and his praise for CBS News’ new leaders.
“It is one thing for CBS to make independent editorial decisions protected by the First Amendment. It is quite another to make edits at the President’s demand out of fear of retribution,” Raskin wrote. “The double standard here undermines public trust and demonstrates how Paramount’s capitulation has compromised CBS News’s independence. The American people deserve to know whether their news is shaped by journalistic judgment or by Donald Trump.”
The Independent has reached out to CBS News and Paramount for comment.
open image in galleryIn a portion of his much-anticipated '60 Minutes' interview that only aired online, Donald Trump heaps praise on new network leaders Bari Weiss and David Ellison while boasting about his settlement. (YouTube)Democrats and press freedom organizations have promised investigations and lawsuits following Paramount’s decision to pay Trump $16 million to settle his “meritless” lawsuit over 60 Minutes’ editing of a 2024 interview with then-Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, which the president claimed amounted to election interference.
The settlement came weeks before Trump’s hand-picked FCC chairman Brendan Carr approved Paramount’s long-delayed $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. House Democrats have also demanded answers about Skydance chief David Ellison’s concessions to the Trump administration days before the merger approval, which included assurances that Paramount would eliminate diversity hiring policies and a vow to install an ombudsman to review “complaints of bias” at CBS News.
Beyond that, Democrats have also taken issue with Paramount’s decision – just days before the merger was approved – to cancel vocal Trump critic Stephen Colbert’s top-rated late-night television show, as well as the president’s claim that he reached a secret “side deal” with Ellison to extract up to $20 million of pro-Trump programming as part of the 60 Minutes settlement.
“The concessions President Trump forced from Paramount, including the settlement, the free advertising, and the installation of a presidentially demanded newsroom ‘minder,’ were on full display during the recent interview,” Raskin noted in his recent letter.
Paramount, meanwhile, has repeatedly asserted that the company has no knowledge of a separate deal between Ellison and Trump. At the time of the settlement, Paramount also noted that it didn’t include any statement of apology and regret, and that the money would be allocated to Trump’s future presidential library.
“This lawsuit is completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process. We will abide by the legal process to defend our case,” the company said in a statement at the time of the Skdance merger.
The settlement with Trump also included an agreement that going forward, 60 Minutes would “release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.” It was the release of the full transcript of Trump’s sitdown with O’Donnell last month that prompted criticism of the program’s editing.
“And, actually, 60 Minutes paid me a lot of money,” Trump said during a portion of the interview that was not televised but included in the online transcript. “And you don’t have to put this on, because I don’t want to embarrass you, and I’m sure you’re not … I think you have a great, new leader, frankly, who’s — the young woman that’s leading your whole enterprise is a great, from what I know.”
The “young woman” he was talking about is CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, the heterodox founder of “anti-woke” digital media The Free Press who was recently hired by Ellison to run the network’s newsroom. Ellison, whom the president has repeatedly praised as a “great man” who is “going to do the right thing with” CBS, also paid $150 million to purchase The Free Press.
open image in galleryRep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, has informed CBS News that he’s launching an investigation into the network’s editing of its ‘60 Minutes’ interview with Trump. (Getty Images)Another exchange that drew notice for not being included in the televised portion was O’Donnell pressing Trump on his pardon of Zhao, noting that the Binance founder’s ties to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company raised corruption concerns.” I'd rather not have you ask the question,” the president said in an unaired moment.
Noting that “turmoil inside CBS has been mounting for months” since the Trump settlement and the network’s perceived rightward shift under Ellison’s new regime, Raskin called for Weinstein to prove that he’s not at the network to rubber-stamp the president’s agenda.
“These editorial deletions underscore the gravity of the moment for CBS’s new ombudsman, Kenneth Weinstein, who now faces a clear test of independence: whether to defend the network’s journalistic integrity or enable the President’s ongoing efforts to coercively dominate the press,” the Democratic lawmaker wrote.
Additionally, pointing out that Trump has continued to threaten other news organizations with massive lawsuits while extracting settlements over frivolous claims, insisting that those actions “reflect an alarming pattern of using government power to punish critical reporting and reward compliance,” Raskin said it was apparent CBS was following the president’s orders.
“The facts here are clear. President Trump directed CBS to edit his own interview after suing the network for editing his opponent’s interview, and CBS complied with his requests and omitted its anchor’s questions about Trump’s pardons,” he argued in his letter to Weinstein.
The Democrat further requested a written assessment of Trump’s intervention, a breakdown of the network’s editorial guidelines, and any communication and guidance regarding the 60 Minutes interview.
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