Monday, the morning after the final 60 Minutes episode of the season, CBS News President Wendy McMahon announced her resignation. In a short statement she thanked viewers and said she and CBS “do not agree on the path forward.”
McMahon’s decision is being taken as a sign that CBS is about to settle a lawsuit filed by President Trump against 60 Minutes, over the editing of an interview last fall with his opponent Vice President Harris. The suit – which is without merit – is asking for $20 billion in damages and the size of the ask is the first tell that the suit is frivolous.
As with many Trump lawsuits, he does not expect to win in court, but he is using the threat of litigation to force CBS to settle for a lesser number. In exchange, it is implied that if CBS plays ball, he will make sure the FCC approves a merger between CBS’s parent company Paramount and Skydance Media. And that’s the story playing out in the open. It comes in two parts:
- The mere suggestion that Trump is using his position as president to pressure CBS to give him money and presumably alter its journalistic ethics in his favor, is a corrupt act. No one is covering it that way.
- If CBS settles, and then wins FCC approval for its merger, then the corrupt transaction is complete, and that too, under normal circumstances, would be subject to immediate criminal investigation. There will be no investigation, because Trump loyalists control all the agencies of government that would normally launch a probe.
This story is beyond the point of casual observation, speculation, and conjecture. The crime is in progress and should be reported that way.
