Paramount and CBS filed motions Thursday to throw out President Donald Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview last year, calling the suit an “affront to the First Amendment.”
Trump first sued the network a few days before the November election, alleging that the program had violated a Texas consumer protection law by deceptively editing an interview with Kamala Harris. Last month, the president expanded the lawsuit, alleging an additional claim under the federal Lanham Act and seeking $20 billion in damages.
In a bid to establish jurisdiction in federal court in Texas, Trump also added Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, as a co-plaintiff.
The company filed two motions to dismiss the case, one for lack of jurisdiction and the other on grounds that consumer fraud laws do not govern editorial speech.
“This lawsuit is an affront to the First Amendment and is without basis in law or fact,” the company’s lawyers wrote.
The lawsuit has been the subject of consternation within CBS, as Paramount has indicated it may be willing to settle with Trump. In part, the company is fearful that Trump’s appointees at the Federal Communications Commission may hold up the merger with Skydance.
The motions filed Thursday laid out a forceful argument that the suit is an unconstitutional threat to free speech.
“If the First Amendment means anything, it means that public officials like Plaintiffs cannot hold news organizations like CBS liable for the simple exercise of editorial judgment,” the motion argues. “Whether Plaintiffs believe the entire unedited Interview should have aired or only edited in a way they approve, they are not entitled under the First Amendment to demand only news that fits their wishes.”
Trump filed the suit in the Amarillo federal courthouse, where nearly all cases are assigned to Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee.
In the motion regarding jurisdiction, Paramount argued that there is no reason why a Texas judge should hear a lawsuit filed by Trump, a Florida resident, against CBS, which is based in New York.
CBS aired two excerpts from Harris’ response to a question about Gaza. In the first airing, on “Face the Nation,” she gave a relatively circuitous response. The clip used the following day on “60 Minutes” was more succinct. Trump has argued that CBS sought to falsely portray Harris as more coherent than she was by deleting her “word salad” response.