President Donald Trump appears poised to achieve a legal trifecta, securing settlements from major media companies, including Disney, Meta, and Paramount Global. These settlements, totaling $40 million, have raised concerns among legal scholars, journalists, and First Amendment advocates. The settlements appear driven by fear rather than the strength of Trump's arguments, suggesting a pattern of intimidation and leverage.
In December, Disney paid $15 million towards a future presidential library to settle a lawsuit Trump filed against its subsidiary ABC News. The lawsuit stemmed from anchor George Stephanopolous's statement during a TV interview that Trump had been found liable for "rape" in E. Jean Carroll's civil trial. The trial judge later clarified that the jury's finding of "sexual abuse" amounted to rape "as many people commonly understand the word." Disney settled the matter a week before Christmas, just as Stephanopolous was to be deposed.
In late January, Facebook-parent Meta settled Trump's claims with a $22 million check for the library (plus another $3 million in legal fees). This settlement followed Trump's allegation that Meta violated his First Amendment rights in 2021 by locking his Facebook and Instagram accounts, an action taken in response to Trump's role in the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
Paramount Global, owner of CBS News, is currently negotiating the potential price of its surrender with Trump's lawyers. This lawsuit arose from Trump's claim that CBS News and "60 Minutes" engaged in "election interference" by deceptively editing clips of its interview with Kamala Harris. However, CBS released the full transcript and interview footage this week, validating its long-held position that the editing did not alter the substance of Harris's responses.
The concern is that Trump is using the power of the presidency to strongarm his targets. RonNell Andersen Jones, a University of Utah law professor, states that "No president has ever been as overt about his goal of using as many levers of punishment as possible" to intimidate news organizations and their parent companies. She describes the corporate capitulation as "shortsighted and dangerous."
Trump's legal arguments in these cases are considered weak, even frivolous. However, the companies involved appear to be motivated by fear of further repercussions. Meta is wary of triggering a federal investigation into its business practices, while Disney and Paramount own TV stations whose licenses could be at risk during reviews by the Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump-appointee Brendan Carr. Paramount is also seeking federal approval for a merger with Skydance Media, a deal that could earn Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone billions of dollars.
The concern that Trump might weaponize the federal bureaucracy is well-founded. During his first term, the Justice Department sued AT&T and Time Warner, CNN's parent company, to block their merger on antitrust grounds. While the companies ultimately prevailed, the litigation created uncertainty, drove up legal costs, and delayed the merger's completion.
Carr, Trump's newly appointed FCC chairman, has shown a clear pattern of implementing the administration's will on issues that go far beyond the FCC's core responsibilities. He has reinstated a conservative organization's petition for investigations into CBS, NBC, and ABC, echoing allegations Trump made in his lawsuits against ABC and CBS. Despite CBS releasing the full "60 Minutes" transcript, the FCC investigation remains open, and Paramount continues to discuss settling Trump's lawsuit.
Carr's actions have been criticized by both Democrats and Republicans. Anna Gomez, a Democratic FCC commissioner, described Carr's actions as "a retaliatory move" designed to "instill fear" in the networks. Al Sikes, a former Republican FCC chairman, called Carr's revival of the network complaint "shocking." The FCC has historically avoided rendering judgments about news coverage, out of respect for broadcasters' First Amendment rights.