Yes, really. Here are the receipts.
In July 2025 Paramount paid Trump $16M over a 60 Minutes editing lawsuit while its $8B Skydance merger awaited FCC approval. Critics called it a payoff; senior CBS News leaders resigned, Colbert mocked it on air, and his show was later canceled.
Paramount called the suit meritless and swore it had nothing to do with the merger — then wrote a $16 million check to the future presidential library anyway. What press-freedom groups say the precedent now means for every newsroom...
The FCC cleared the $8 billion sale after Skydance pledged an ombudsman and the end of DEI programs — and days after Colbert mocked the settlement on his own network. The lone dissenting commissioner's warning about what deals now require...