Investing.com -- Paramount Global’s settlement of a lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump over a "60 Minutes" interview has sparked criticism from CBS News staff, press freedom advocates, and legislators, according to a report from Reuters.

The media company agreed to pay $16 million to resolve Trump’s civil suit, which alleged deceptive editing of an interview with presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Journalism advocates warned this settlement creates a dangerous precedent that could threaten press freedom.

A current "60 Minutes" employee told Reuters that during a Wednesday call, newsroom staff expressed "widespread distress" about the settlement. The anonymous staffer said employees voiced concerns about the future of the CBS News prime time news magazine and its investigative journalism approach.

While the settlement did not include an apology from CBS News, which the employee described as avoiding "the worst outcome," it does require making public transcripts of future interviews with presidential candidates, which the staffer called a "horrible precedent."

Trump initially filed a $10-billion lawsuit against CBS in October, claiming the network manipulated editing of Harris’s interview to "tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party" during the election. Trump later increased his damage claim to $20 billion in an amended complaint filed in February.

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