President Donald Trump says his team is anticipating an additional $20 million payment from Paramount on top of the company’s $16 million settlement of CBS’ “60 Minutes” lawsuit.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump claimed the additional funds would be paid by Skydance Media in the form of advertising, public service announcements or other similar programming. All together, he said the final settlement would be valued at over $36 million, calling it a “big and important win.”
“This is another in a long line of victories over the Fake News media, who we are holding to account for their widespread fraud and deceit,” he added. “The Wall Street Journal, The Failing New York Times, The Washington Post, MSDNC [MSNBC], CNN and all other Mainstream Media Liars, are on notice that the days of them being allowed to deceive the American people are over. Make America Great Again!”
Representatives for Skydance declined to comment. Representatives for Paramount and the Trump administration also both declined TheWrap’s request for comment.
Trump’s post comes after he previously hinted at a possible side deal with David Ellison as the latter awaits FCC approval for Skydance’s pending $8 billion merger with Paramount.
An individual close to the settlement negotiations previously told TheWrap there was anticipation of an additional “low-to-mid eight figure allocation” that would be set aside in the future for public service announcements and advertisements that support “conservative causes.”
Paramount previously denied that PSAs were included in its settlement, while Skydance declined to comment at the time. The initial $16 million payment covered Trump’s legal fees and other costs, as well as a donation allocated to a “future presidential library.”
“Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump other than those set forth in the settlement proposed by the mediator and accepted by the parties,” a spokesperson for the media giant said in a statement on July 2. “The material terms of the settlement agreement in principle are those disclosed by us.”
On Monday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Ellison with questions as part of an investigation into whether a side deal was cut, arguing that Trump’s previous remarks raised “fresh questions about corruption.”
They also questioned whether Skydance may have been involved in the cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” after the late night host knocked the settlement as a “big fat bribe.” The trio set a deadline for Skydance to respond to their questions by Aug. 4.
In addition to the letter, Warren and a group of Democratic lawmakers unveiled the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act of 2025.
The proposed legislation would require presidents to wait until after leaving office before fundraising or accepting donations, except for 501(c)(3) organizations who would be limited to a contribution cap of $10,000 total. It would also prohibit donations from foreign nationals or foreign governments, registered lobbyists, federal contractors and/or individuals seeking presidential pardons for two years after a president leaves office.
Additionally, it would prohibit straw donations, in which someone makes a donation under someone else’s name, ban the use of presidential library donations for personal expenses or unrelated financial obligations and require all donations of $200 or more to be disclosed to the National Archives each calendar quarter during the president’s time in office and five years thereafter. Donor information, including name, employer and date and amount of the donation, would be published online in a searchable, downloadable format.
Sens. Edward Markey and Ben Ray Luján have also called out the Paramount settlement and have urged the FCC to hold a full commission vote on the Skydance merger rather than approving the deal through its media bureau. Markey and Chuck Schumer have also asked FCC chairman Brendan Carr to end the agency’s “partisan attacks” on CBS and to “cease interfering with the judgement of independent news organizations.”
The FCC’s review, which is required due to a transfer of broadcast licenses, is currently on day 248, per the agency’s website. The agency typically makes decisions within an informal 180-day timeline, though that is not a strict deadline. FCC chairman Carr has previously said the Trump settlement talks were unrelated to the merger review.
Carr and Ellison recently met on July 15, where the latter “emphasized the public interest benefits” of the merger and expressed a commitment to unbiased journalism and its embrace of diverse viewpoints, per an FCC filing.
Ellison also committed to promoting “non-discrimination and equal employment opportunity” at New Paramount and said its planned governance structure would “not be subject to any Chinese or other foreign influence” following concerns about Tencent Holdings’ minority stake of less than 5% in Skydance.
After triggering its second automatic 90-day extension, the Paramount-Skydance deal’s closing deadline has been pushed to Oct. 6. If the deal is not closed by then, the parties would have the option to terminate the deal, which would not be subject to the agreement’s $400 million breakup fee.
