'60 Minutes' correspondent Scott Pelley warns a CBS settlement with Trump would be 'very damaging'

"60 Minutes" analogous Scott Pelley spoke retired astir President Donald Trump's suit against CBS and its genitor institution connected Saturday, arguing that a colony would beryllium "very damaging." 

"Well, it’d beryllium precise damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the estimation of those companies," Pelley said during a speech with CNN's Anderson Cooper connected Saturday, who asked however harmful a settlement and imaginable apology would beryllium to the network. 

Trump filed a suit against Paramount Global, CBS News' genitor company, implicit a "60 Minutes" interrogation with erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris successful October 2024. Fox News Digital confirmed that Trump rejected a $15 cardinal connection to settee his lawsuit, according to a root acquainted with the matter, arsenic the president's ineligible squad is besides demanding astatine slightest $25 cardinal and an apology from CBS News.

Cooper, who is besides a analogous connected "60 Minutes," besides asked Pelley astir erstwhile amusement shaper Bill Owens resigning from the programme successful April.

Scott Pelley attends the CBS Fall Schedule Celebration astatine Paramount Studios connected May 02, 2024, successful Los Angeles, California. ( (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage))

CBS NEWS CEO WENDY MCMAHON ABRUPTLY RESIGNS, CITES DISAGREEMENT WITH COMPANY AMID ‘CHALLENGING’ PERIOD

"Bill‘s determination to resign whitethorn not person been overmuch of a determination for him due to the fact that helium was ever the archetypal idiosyncratic to support the independency of ‘60 minutes.' Bill didn‘t enactment for Paramount. Bill worked for our viewers, and helium felt precise keenly astir that. And truthful I‘m not definite Bill had immoderate choice, erstwhile the corp began to meddle successful Bill‘s decisions astir the editorial content, oregon conscionable spot unit successful that area, Bill felt that helium didn‘t person the independency that honorable journalism requires," Pelley said. 

Pelley besides said helium wished helium had the nationalist backing of CBS News, but added that his enactment was inactive making it onto the program. 

"You truly privation the institution was down you 100%, right? You truly privation the apical echelons of the institution would travel retired publically and accidental '60 Minutes', for example, is simply a crown jewel of American journalism, and we basal down it 100%. I haven‘t heard that. On the different hand, my enactment is getting connected the air, and I person not had anyone extracurricular ‘60 Minutes’ enactment their thumb connected the standard and say, ‘you can‘t accidental that. You should accidental this. You person to edit the communicative successful this way. You should interrogation this person.’ None of that has happened. So portion I would similar to person that nationalist backing, possibly the much important happening is the enactment is inactive getting connected the air," Pelley said. 

The "60 Minutes" analogous precocious went viral for calling retired Trump during a commencement address. 

"60 Minutes" analogous Scott Pelley spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper connected Saturday. (David M. Russell/CBS via Getty Images)

'60 MINUTES' PRODUCER DEFIANT AS CBS PARENT COMPANY MULLS SETTLING TRUMP LAWSUIT: 'I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE'

"In this moment, this moment, this morning, our ineffable regularisation of instrumentality is nether attack. Journalism is nether attack. Universities are nether attack. Freedom of code is nether attack," Pelley said during his commencement code astatine Wake Forest University. "And insidious fearfulness is reaching done our schools, our businesses, our homes and into our backstage thoughts, the fearfulness to talk successful America. If our authorities is, successful Lincoln's phrase, 'Of the people, by the people, for the people,' past wherefore are we acrophobic to speak?"

Pelley addressed the remarks during the CNN interrogation and told Cooper that helium felt "strongly" it needed to beryllium said. 

President Donald Trump speaks during an lawsuit connected vigor accumulation successful the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, successful Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

"I don‘t notation to him oregon the president oregon the White House oregon the administration. But I was talking astir actions that person been taken by the authorities implicit these past galore months. But, determination was a small spot of hysteria among immoderate astir this speech, and I simply inquire you, what does it accidental astir our state erstwhile there’s hysteria astir a code that’s astir state of speech?" the CBS analogous added. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.