US media group Paramount will pay Donald Trump $US16 million (more than $24 million) after agreeing to settle a lawsuit over an interview with former presidential rival Kamala Harris.
Mr Trump filed the suit, alleging the network deceptively edited the interview with Ms Harris, which aired on its 60 Minutes news program on CBS in October, in an effort to "tip the scales in favour of the Democratic Party" in the November election.
CBS, owned by parent company Paramount, aired two versions of the Harris interview in which she appears to give different answers to the same question about the Israel-Hamas war. However the network and some groups have said it is normal editing common in television interviews.
CBS previously said the lawsuit was "completely without merit" and asked a judge to dismiss the case.
In a statement, Paramount said the million-dollar settlement would allocated to Mr Trump's future presidential library.
"The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret," the statement said.
Calls for bribery investigation
The settlement comes as Paramount seeks approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its $US8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media.
Democrat Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has called for a bribery investigation.
"With Paramount folding to Donald Trump at the same time the company needs his administration's approval for its billion-dollar merger, this could be bribery in plain sight," she said.
"Paramount has refused to provide answers to a congressional inquiry, so I'm calling for a full investigation into whether or not any anti-bribery laws were broken."
On the campaign trail last year, and as president, Mr Trump has called for CBS's broadcasting licences to be revoked.
The FCC, an independent federal agency, issues eight-year licences to individual broadcast stations, not networks.
FCC commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, said the settlement over an entirely "meritless" lawsuit was a "desperate" move by Paramount that "casts a long shadow over the integrity of the transaction pending before the FCC" and "marks a dangerous precedent for the First Amendment".
Senator Bernie Sanders said: "Paramount's decision will only embolden Trump to continue attacking, suing and intimidating the media which he has labelled 'the enemy of the people'."
Mr Trump's legal team welcomed the settlement on Wednesday.
"With this record settlement, President Donald J. Trump delivers another win for the American people," a spokesperson said.
Fallout from Paramount settlementÂ
Paramount shares fell 1.2 per cent on Wednesday.
The company said it also agreed 60 Minutes would release transcripts of interviews with future US presidential candidates after they aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.
At Paramount's annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, co-CEO George Cheeks said the company chose to settle the suit to avoid the "somewhat unpredictable cost" of mounting a legal defence and the risk of an adverse judgement that could result in "significant financial as well as reputational damage", as well as the disruption of an ongoing legal battle.
The case entered mediation in April after Mr Trump bumped his claim for damages to $US20 billion in Feburary.
ABC with wires
