In Procedural Move, Judge Denies CBS Motion to Dismiss Trump ’60 Minutes’ Lawsuit

In a procedural move, a federal judge on Monday denied CBS‘ motion to throw out President Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” broadcast.

Trump amended his suit on Friday, adding a new plaintiff and arguing that he suffered $20 billion in damages — up from $10 billion — when the network edited an interview with Kamala Harris last fall.

CBS has called the suit “completely without merit,” though parent company Paramount Global is said to be pursuing a settlement as it seeks regulatory approval to merge with Skydance.

The amended lawsuit supersedes the original complaint, which makes CBS’ motion to dismiss the original complaint moot. CBS has until March 7 to file a motion to throw out the amended suit, which adds new legal arguments.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who is based in Amarillo, noted in his order that the denial is procedural.

“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,” the judge wrote.

Trump filed the original suit on Oct. 31, alleging that CBS had violated the Texas consumer fraud law when it edited Harris’ answer to a question about the Israel-Hamas War. Trump argued that the broadcast was edited to make Harris appear “coherent and decisive,” and that he had standing to sue as a consumer of the broadcast who had been deceived.

CBS sought to dismiss the suit, arguing that the broadcast was protected by the First Amendment. In the alternative, the network asked to move the case to New York. The amended suit adds a new claim under the federal Lanham Act, arguing that Trump was also harmed as a competitor to CBS through his ownership of Truth Social. Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, was also added to the Texas consumer fraud claim as a co-plaintiff.