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What Trump Added to His CBS Lawsuit: False Advertising and Unfair Competition

Trump’s amended complaint added federal false-advertising and unfair-competition allegations to his CBS case. The later settlement was not a court ruling on the merits.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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In a February 2025 amended complaint, Donald Trump added a federal false-advertising and unfair-competition claim to his lawsuit over CBS’s editing of Kamala Harris’s 60 Minutes interview. He also added Paramount Global as a defendant, named Rep. Ronny Jackson as a co-plaintiff and raised the damages demand from at least $10 billion to $20 billion. Those were plaintiffs’ allegations, not court findings. Paramount later settled for a reported $16 million allocation, but the sources reviewed do not establish a ruling on the merits.

What the lawsuit was about

Trump sued CBS News in federal court in Amarillo, Texas, on October 31, 2024, over two excerpts from Kamala Harris’s October interview. The Face the Nation broadcast showed a longer portion of an answer about the Middle East; 60 Minutes used a shorter portion. Trump alleged that the difference misled viewers and advantaged Harris. CBS disputed that characterization, saying the excerpts used different portions of the same response and that the interview was not doctored. CBS also said Trump had been invited to interview and declined.

Trump’s original complaint sought at least $10 billion and relied on the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act. CBS News quoted University of Chicago law professor and First Amendment scholar Geoffrey R. Stone describing the legal issue as whether a consumer-protection law aimed at commercial representations about products could reach editorial decisions in news programming. Stone’s view was not a court ruling; he said, “But CBS is not engaged in advertising here.”

What Trump added in the amended complaint

In February 2025, the amended complaint changed the case in several ways. The Los Angeles Times reported the amendment on February 8, 2025.

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  • New defendants and co-plaintiff: Paramount Global was added as a defendant, and Rep. Ronny Jackson joined Trump as a co-plaintiff.
  • A larger damages demand: The plaintiffs raised their demand to $20 billion. This was an amount sought, not money awarded by a court.
  • A federal commercial claim: The complaint added a claim under the Lanham Act, alleging false advertising and unfair competition.

The new theory framed the alleged editing as commercially misleading and competitive. The plaintiffs alleged that CBS had business reasons to make Harris appear more coherent and decisive and that the broadcasts diverted viewership and commercial value from Trump-linked media interests, including Truth Social. CBS rejected the claim that its editing was deceptive. The allegations do not establish that viewers were diverted, Harris benefited, or CBS acted with the alleged motive.

How the two legal theories differ

Issue Original complaint February 2025 amendment
Legal basis Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act Added a Lanham Act false-advertising and unfair-competition claim
Core framing Alleged deception tied to the differing interview excerpts Alleged commercially misleading conduct and competitive harm
Damages demand At least $10 billion $20 billion
Parties Trump sued CBS News Paramount Global was added as a defendant; Ronny Jackson joined as a co-plaintiff

The amendment did not turn the case into a defamation lawsuit. CBS News’s initial report described the original complaint as not pleaded in defamation, and the amendment’s added theory was false advertising and unfair competition.

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What happened to the case

CBS News reported on July 2, 2025, that Paramount would settle for a reported $16 million allocation. The reported funds were designated for Trump’s future presidential library and the plaintiffs’ fees and costs; Trump and Jackson were not to receive direct payments. The settlement included no apology. Paramount also agreed that 60 Minutes would release transcripts of future presidential-candidate interviews, subject to redactions for legal or national-security concerns.

A settlement resolves a dispute by agreement; it is not a judicial determination that the allegations were true. CBS News reported that Paramount maintained the suit was without merit and that the program followed its standard editing process. The sources reviewed do not establish a court ruling on liability or a merits judgment.

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Keep the separate FCC inquiry distinct

The civil lawsuit and the FCC inquiry were separate proceedings. CBS News’s July 2025 settlement coverage described the FCC inquiry as open at that time; its status as of October 8, 2026, is not established by the sources cited here. A July 29, 2025, Senate subcommittee letter criticized the settlement and requested information about its relationship to Paramount’s merger. That letter records lawmakers’ criticism and questions, not a finding that the settlement was exchanged for regulatory approval.

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