Bill Owens, former executive producer of 60 Minutes, revealed Friday, that he faced intense pressure from Paramount Global executives to apologize for a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, which became the subject of a $10 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump.
Owens refused, stating, "I’m not apologizing for anything. We haven’t done anything wrong," and resigned in April 2025, citing corporate overreach and threats to journalistic independence. His exit followed accusations that 60 Minutes deceptively edited Harris’s response on U.S.-Israel policy to make her appear more coherent, fueling Trump’s claims of election interference.
The lawsuit, filed in Texas in October 2024, accused CBS and Paramount of "deceptive trade practices" and defamation over the edited Harris interview clip, which shortened her lengthy answer on 60 Minutes compared to a longer version aired on Face the Nation. CBS defended the edit as standard for time constraints, releasing the full transcript to the FCC.
Paramount settled the suit in July 2025 for $16 million, allocated to Trump’s presidential library and charities, with no apology but a commitment to release future presidential interview transcripts.