Paramount settles Trump lawsuit with $16m payout

US media group Paramount has agreed to pay $16m (£11.6m) to settle a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over what he alleged was a misleading interview with the former vice president Kamala Harris.

The case involving a feature on CBS News, which is owned by Paramount, has been criticised as a challenge to free speech. Paramount has been seeking a resolution with Mr Trump, whose administration must approve the company's proposed merger with Skydance Media - but the settlement did not involve an apology.

Mr Trump's lawyer claimed the president had suffered "mental anguish" over the editing of the interview, which was broadcast in October on the CBS News show 60 Minutes during the election campaign. The money will go to Mr Trump's future presidential library and not directly to the 79-year-old American leader.

Paramount and CBS had rejected Mr Trump's contention that the interview was edited to enhance how Ms Harris sounded and wanted the lawsuit dismissed. Mr Trump, who did not agree to be interviewed by 60 Minutes during the campaign, protested over clips showing Ms Harris giving two different answers to a question from interviewer Bill Whitaker.

The separate clips were aired on 60 Minutes and Face The Nation. CBS said both replies came as part of Ms Harris's long answer and the clip was edited to be more succinct.

Read more from Sky News:Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day Gaza ceasefire 'President's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths' The president's lawyer said it caused confusion and was misleading to voters. The case has been closely watched by advocates for press freedom and journalists at CBS, whose lawyers called the lawsuit "completely without merit" and pledged to fight it after it was filed.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a media advocacy group that says it is a Paramount shareholder, vowed it would file a lawsuit in protest if a settlement was reached. In December, ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit by the president over statements made by presenter George Stephanopoulos, agreeing to pay $15m (£10.9m) towards Mr Trump's presidential library..