Pressure mounts on CBS, Paramount as judge declares motion to dismiss Trump's $20 billion lawsuit 'moot'

https://www.foxnews.com/media/pressure-mounts-cbs-paramount-judge-
declares-motion-dismiss-trumps-20-billion-lawsuit-moot

FIRST ON FOX -- President Trump scored a temporary victory on Tuesday when 
a judge deemed CBS and Paramount’s dismissal complaint "moot" as his 
election interference and news distortion lawsuit moves forward. 

Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS News in October, alleging 
election interference over its handling of the "60 Minutes" interview, 
accusing the network of aiding his Democratic rival through deceptive 
editing just days before the election. 

Last week, Trump’s legal team amended the original lawsuit following the 
release of the unedited transcript and raw footage of its controversial 
"60 Minutes" interview. The lawsuit added CBS News' parent company 
Paramount Global as a defendant, citing how the "60 Minutes" election 
special was platformed on its Paramount+ streaming service. Additionally, 
the lawsuit added Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, as a plaintiff and 
increased the damages claim to $20 billion. 

U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk denied a motion from CBS and 
Paramount, who were seeking to dismiss for failing to state a claim and 
for improper venue. 

"Plaintiffs add a Defendant, a Plaintiff, and a litany of factual 
allegations and legal claims in their Amended Complaint. Accordingly, the 
Motions are denied as moot," Kacsmaryk ruled in a court filing obtained by 
Fox News Digital. 

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CBS sought to dismiss the case because it believed Texas is an improper 
venue, with the case being transferred from Texas to New York as an 
alternative. Kacsmaryk’s moot ruling means it will remain in Texas for the 
time being. The addition of Jackson as plaintiff is thought to be a key 
element as to why it will remain in Texas. 

CBS and Paramount have 21 days to renew the motion to dismiss based on the 
amended complaint. 

Judge Kacsmaryk added, "Nothing in this Order shall be construed as a 
determination on the merits of either Plaintiffs’ or Defendants’ 
substantive arguments and claims in the Motions or Amended Complaint."

CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The procedural victory for Trump comes as pressure continues to build on 
CBS. 

Last week, the FCC released the raw transcript and footage handed over by 
CBS News, which showed CBS News had aired only the first half of Harris' 
response to Whitaker's question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu not "listening" to the Biden administration in a preview clip 
that aired on "Face the Nation," but aired only the second half of her 
response during the primetime special. 

"But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening," Whitaker 
said in the October 2024 interview. "The Wall Street Journal said that he— 
that your administration has repeatedly been blindsided by Netanyahu, and 
in fact, he has rebuffed just about all of your administration's 
entreaties."

"Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of 
movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a 
result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in 
the region. And we're not going to stop doing that. We are not going to 
stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about 
where we stand on the need for this war to end," Harris responded.

New FCC chair Brendan Carr ordered CBS News to hand over the unedited 
transcript as part of its investigation into whether the network violated 
the FCC's "news distortion" policy after a complaint was filed.

In the preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation," Harris was asked why 
it seemed like Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S. 

"Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of 
movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a 
result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in 
the region," Harris responded in the "Face the Nation" clip. 

Harris was mocked by conservatives for offering a lengthy "word salad" to 
Whitaker. But when that same question aired the following night in the 
primetime election special, a shorter, more focused answer from the vice 
president followed.

"We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States 
to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end," Harris 
said in the primetime special. 

Critics accused CBS News of editing Harris' "word salad" answer to shield 
the vice president from further backlash, and there were calls for the 
network to release the full transcript after it only shared transcripts of 
what had aired. CBS News refused to release the raw transcript until the 
FCC got involved.

CBS parent company Paramount Global is reportedly considering settling the 
suit ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media in hopes of preventing 
potential retribution by Trump's FCC, which has the authority to halt the 
multibillion-dollar transaction. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling 
shareholder, is reportedly in favor of settling with the president. 


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and 
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem.  It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden 
fiasco, President Trump.  

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.