Three senators have despatched a letter to Paramount International’s Shari Redstone warning {that a} potential settlement of Donald Trump‘s $20 billion lawsuit in opposition to CBS could violate federal bribery legal guidelines.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote that “Paramount seems to be attempting to settle a lawsuit that it has assessed as ‘utterly with out benefit,’ and moderating the content material of its applications with the intention to receive approval of this merger. Beneath the federal bribery statute, it’s unlawful to corruptly give something of worth to public officers to affect an official act. If Paramount officers make these concessions in a quid professional quo association to affect President Trump or different Administration officers, they could be breaking the legislation.”
Redstone is non-executive chairwoman of Paramount International and controlling shareholder.
The senators cite 18 U.S.C. 201, which prohibits giving something of worth to a public official for the needs of influencing their selections.
In October, Trump sued CBS over the best way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris. The lawsuit alleges violations of Texas’ Misleading Commerce Practices Act, which is usually utilized by customers for false promoting claims. Quite a lot of authorized consultants see Trump’s lawsuit as meritless, however the litigation comes as CBS-parent Paramount International seeks Trump administration approval for its merger with Skydance.
Read the senators’ letter to Shari Redstone.
The senators additionally wrote that “Paramount seems to have begun overseeing CBS’s content material, presumably with the intention to display it for content material that would anger the Trump Administration.” That was a reference to the resignation final month of Invoice Owens, govt producer of 60 Minutes, over what he stated was company interference. The lawmakers additionally famous the pending departure of Wendy McMahon, the CEO of CBS Information and Stations, who introduced her resignation on Monday, saying that “it’s turn into clear that the corporate and I don’t agree on the trail ahead.”
“Paramount’s scheme to curry favor with the Trump Administration has compromised journalistic independence and raises critical issues of corruption and improper conduct,” the senators wrote.
The lawmakers went on to ask Redstone to reply to a sequence of questions concerning the potential settlement, together with, “Has 60 Minutes made adjustments to its content material on the request of anybody at Paramount to facilitate approval of the merger?”
A Paramount International spokesperson didn’t instantly return a request for remark. The Wall Road Journal first reported on the letter. A spokesperson advised the Journal that Redstone has recused herself from the settlement talks.
