Lawyers representing CBS Broadcasting told a Texas federal court Tuesday they will need President Donald Trump’s personal financial information if his $20 billion lawsuit against the company moves to discovery.
That includes the finances of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, Trump Media & Technology Group (which is itself in a unique revenue situation), and Trump’s numerous crypto ventures.
“Defendants further anticipate that discovery will be needed into President Trump’s legal relationship, if any, with the Donald J. Trump for President 2024 campaign and the Trump Media & Technology Group,” the legal team wrote in a filing obtained by Deadline.
Trump originally sued CBS for $10 billion in October, alleging that “60 Minutes” had deceptively edited an interview with his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
After CBS sought to have the suit dismissed, Trump upped the demand to $20 billion ― more than double the value of CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global. The judge overseeing the case then denied CBS’s motion as a procedural matter, since the original suit had been amended.
Trump was originally scheduled to sit for a similar interview with “60 Minutes,” but backed out at the last minute. He then responded to Harris’ interview in a rage-filled rant and demanded CBS lose its broadcast license, a threat he’s also made about NBC, ABC and CNN.
CBS News publicly released the full transcripts and videos of the interview earlier this month under pressure from Trump’s newly appointed Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr.
The network said in a statement that the transcripts “show – consistent with 60 Minutes’ repeated assurances to the public – that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.”
“In reporting the news, journalists regularly edit interviews – for time, space or clarity,” the network added. “In making these edits, 60 Minutes is always guided by the truth and what we believe will be most informative to the viewing public – all while working within the constraints of broadcast television.”
Trump has benefited greatly from similar edits himself: Fox News extensively edited footage of Trump visiting a New York City barbershop last year, making him appear significantly more cogent.
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A Fox News spokesperson told HuffPost afterward that the segment had to be pretaped and edited “for time and clarity.”