CBS is getting an object lesson in the old saying about giving someone an inch and eventually giving up a mile. Trump filed a bogus lawsuit against CBS. Every legal opinion offered said he had no chance in court but CBS caved and settled. Trump bullied them into shelling out sixteen million bucks. Every legal pundit, hell every competent lawyer said there wasn’t a chance in hell Trump could win at trial. CBS caved to Trump’s pressure and settled to the tune of $16 million. They were STUPID enough to believe that would be the end of it. Now Trump says he expects $20 million from them!
It gets better as USA Today tells us. At first glance I assumed Trump was just asking for the sixteen million to be bumped up to twenty million. Nope. Trump says he expects an additional $20 MILLION on top of what CBS has already paid. You read that right. According to the linked article CBS already paid Trump his $16M! CBS executives and their board were hopelessly naive to think paying Trump would be the end of things.
As predicted the cost had already grown. They lost respect. They lost incredible journalistic talent and will lose more. Now Trump is demanding MORE payola and anyone who thinks he’s going to stop with another $20 million is delusional. This whole extortion gig has hinged on CBS being involved in an $8 BILLION dollar merger. Ethics and laws be damned Trump could and would have killed it in a heartbeat with a phone call if CBS didn’t pay up. He still can. That’s the part CBS brass was too freaking stupid to take into account.
The government still hasn’t approved the merger. Trump’s lawsuit was never going to court and he knew it. He also knew as President he had leverage and could use it to hold up a big merger. To grift himself a nice payday. Get his cut of the action. Corporate Executive greed is nothing new and Trump knows it as well as anyone. Top folks at Paramount figured sixteen million was chump change compared to what they’d get when the merger was approved. They were wrong and only now are perhaps realizing it. At the moment we have Trumpty now brazenly saying in effect the sixteen million CBS handed over to him (not the govt. – HIM) is just for starters:
“We also anticipate receiving $20 Million Dollars more from the new Owners, in Advertising, PSAs, or similar Programming, for a total of over $36 Million Dollars,” Trump said. “This is another in a long line of VICTORIES over the Fake News Media, who we are holding to account for their widespread fraud and deceit.”
He added that other news organizations are “ON NOTICE that the days of them being allowed to deceive the American People are OVER. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Paramount, CBS’ parent company says all this is news to them. Really? Ok, the details and the breathtaking audacity of Don Cornholeone’s demands might be news but the fact that he’s told them they’re ‘on the hook’ now and will have to pay additional tribute was entirely predictable. I’m sure Trump’s personal law firm, the DOJ has people well-versed in corporate law who will fashion some language in any additional approval that allows him to revoke it. Hell, at this point if I was Skydance Media I’d be looking to pull out of the deal. THEIR people have to be worried about any merger with CBS now coming with strings attached.
Right now Paramount is saying no, they have paid Trump and that’s that. Silly rabbits! He’s just publicly told them they aren’t done paying. And Trumpty won’t be shy about telling them privately that they will either agree or there will be no merger. Worse, is there anyone reading this who doesn’t believe, hell KNOW that there will be still more demands from Trump before he allows the merger to be completed? And also, as I already suggested he’ll find a way to ensure he’s still got his hooks in CBS and Paramount even when it’s done.
AFTER he gets this latest bit of extortion he’ll still want more. Even if he doesn’t demand it right away Skydance will owe it to him because they’ll have to take on CBS’ obligations which as I said gives Trumpty the ability to get his hooks into THEM. If I were Skydance I’d be buying a rocket from Musk to shoot them as far from their impending deal as possible!
A once proud, venerable network sold it’s soul to the Devil. I suppose this was invevitable when I look back. Remember the debacle when CBS was involved in another business deal and for a while killed a 60 minutes story on big tobacco? The producer of that segment resigned, telling Mike Wallace (who tried to get him to work on a new story) that what had been broken couldn’t be fixed. His question was ‘what I we tell the next source? We’ll protect you… maybe?’
Edward R. Murrow is spinning in his grave. One can only hope the news outlets who have been cowed by Trump but not yet yielded to outright extortion to do two things. Make sure all their reporting on Trump and his administration is rock solid. And then follow the example the WSJ is setting – tell Trump to get stuffed. When he huffs and puffs gleefully talk about how interesting the DISCOVERY process will be. Pop his fat orange ass like a balloon. And suck up the talent and readers/viewers the news outlets like CBS sheds.
**********
Zoomers, if you can spare some change to keep the Little Political Blog That Could trekking through cyberspace, we appreciate it. This has been a dim and grim year compared to others before it. All we’re trying to do is survive until things get better. Thank you. Ursula
Damn girl! u catch the best stories I swear!!!
Not only that but, however much they wind up paying, and whether they get the merger approved or not, there is a case to be made that they are ibribing Trump for the approval, especial since the “SIxty Minutes” lawsuit Trump threatened them with if they didn’t settle, was without legal merit.
What a sad commentary of the quality of executives at both CBS and Skydance. No balls is one thing but no business brains is another, even more denigrating. As for Trumpler’s suit against Murdoch, let’s see how the Aussie handles it. He certainly won’t hand Trump $10 billion but that amount was just for bragging rights anyway. Even Rupert may decide that taking on the most corrupt American govt in history isn’t worth the hassle.
And the law firms that caved aren’t doing much better.
Paul, Weiss paid his extortion, and he cost them high-level clients and their best lawyers.
People want a law firm representing or employing them that is ruthless, not one that rolls over.