Paramount on Thursday filed two motions to dismiss President Donald Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against the company. The president first filed the lawsuit in October, claiming “60 Minutes” and CBS deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris in the run up to the 2024 election.
One of the motions filed by CBS that was obtained by TheWrap called President Trump’s lawsuit “an affront to the First Amendment and is without basis in law or fact.”
“They not only ask for $20 billion in damages but also seek an order directing how a news organization may exercise its editorial judgment in the future,” the motion said. “The First Amendment stands resolutely against these demands.”
The filing points to previous court cases that have said broadcasters have “editorial control and judgement” over what goes into their programs. Both motions from Paramount were filed in U.S. district court for the Northern District of Texas on Thursday.
President Trump amended his lawsuit last month to double the initial damage claim to $20 billion.
The president’s suit claimed CBS and “60 Minutes” favorably arranged Harris’ answers on the war in Gaza, a violation of state consumer protection law. His lawsuit said that CBS News engaged in “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference” by editing Harris’ answer to a question from correspondent Bill Whitaker.
President Trump amended that complaint in a Texas court last month, adding an unfair competition claim under federal law, saying CBS also harmed his Truth Social platform.
Those recent court filings come after Paramount was in talks with President Trump to settle the lawsuit. Paramount executives, according to The New York Times, believe that settling the lawsuit would make it less likely that the Trump Administration would block the studio’s planned merger with Skydance.
The other motion filed by Paramount on Thursday asked for the court to dismiss Trump’s lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue.
Paramount’s motion said Trump’s lawsuit was invalid because the entertainment company is not subject to the general jurisdiction of Texas, and also because the “60 Minutes” interview was not shot in the state nor aimed specifically at Texan viewers. If the lawsuit is to continue, it would need to be transferred to a “proper venue,” the motion said, like the Southern District of New York.
