Scott Pelley criticizes CBS for settling Trump case under corporate pressure

The veteran “60 Minutes” reporter criticized the former owners of his parent network, CBS, for settling an election interference lawsuit with President Donald Trump.

“Our previous owners at CBS faced political pressure and collapsed,” said Scott Pelley, according to The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr, referring to the legal dispute between Trump and CBS. Pelley was introducing former “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens at the National Press Foundation Annual Journalism Awards Dinner last week.

Pelley was talking about CBS’s former parent company, Paramount Global, before it merged with Skydance Media, which is owned by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle founder and Trump friend Larry Ellison.

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In the days leading up to the 2024 presidential election, CBS News aired its “60 Minutes” interview featuring the then-Vice President. Kamala Harris. Critics at the time noted that the answer he gave to a question about Israel that first aired in a preview clip of “Face the Nation,” which was mocked by conservatives for his “word salad” comments, appeared to have been replaced by a different answer that aired during a special election the following evening.

Trump accused the network of meddling in the election and sued the company for $20 billion.

After months of contentious negotiations, Paramount and CBS settled Trump’s lawsuit for a sum expected to be north of $30 million, including $16 million previously for Trump’s presidential library.

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“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley criticized the former owners of his parent network, CBS, for settling an election interference lawsuit with President Donald Trump. (David M. Russell/CBS via Getty Images)

Barr also posted on X that veteran “60 Minutes” reporter Lesley Stahl said she would have followed former executive producer Bill Owens out of office amid the company’s ongoing spat with Trump.

“We were going to follow him from the cliff, but he urged us not to,” said Stahl.

Owens, who told colleagues in April of last year that corporate excesses were affecting his ability to maintain an independent media platform.

At the time of his resignation, he told his colleagues in a memorial letter that, “months ago, it became clear that I would not be allowed to host this show as I always do, to make independent decisions based on what was best for 60 Minutes, which was good for the listeners.”

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Paramount Global and CBS agreed Tuesday to settle President Trump’s $20 billion election interference lawsuit against the network. (Al Drago/Bloomberg, Getty Images)

A representative from CBS did not respond Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Joseph Wulfsohn of Fox News contributed to this report.