Jake Tapper launches brutal attack on CBS owner Shari Redstone for caving to Trump amid 60 Minutes lawsuit

CNN’s Jake Tapper launched a scathing attack on CBS owner Shari Redstone for ‘bending the knee’ to Donald Trump on Tuesday, following the resignation of longtime 60 Minutes producer Bill Owens.

Owens, 58, had been the executive producer of the CBS news magazine since 2019, but told staff in a memo on Tuesday that he has come to realize he is no longer able ‘to make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience’ amid the president’s $20 billion lawsuit against the network, the New York Times reports.

Trump has claimed the network deceptively edited an October 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris by cutting down her ‘word salad’ answer to a question about the Israel-Hamas conflict. By doing so, he claims the network was helping the Democratic nominee secure the White House. 

Employees at the network, though, have said they were simply trying to fit Harris’ answer into their one-hour broadcast.

Still, network executives are said to be under intense pressure from Redstone to simply settle the suit – and not fight the allegations – as she tries to sell the company to Skydance Media, which is owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

That multi-billion dollar merger would have to be approved by Trump’s Federal Communications Commission.

Discussing the issue on his show Tuesday, Tapper sided with the 60 Minutes staff, calling the edits to the show ‘editorial discretion’ as he hit out at Redstone, who he said ‘stands to make a fortune if this multi-billion dollar deal, this merger, goes through.

‘And it seems as if Shari Redstone is likely to bend the knee to Trump and settle this allegedly frivolous lawsuit,’ Tapper told his audience. 

The Lead host then went on to read a comment from an unidentified 60 Minutes source he said he had spoken to earlier in the day.

‘The lawsuit was baseless,’ the source said, noting that Owens ‘wouldn’t apologize. He wouldn’t bend. He fought for the broadcast and for independent journalism, and that cost him his job. It’s shameful.’

Another source reportedly told Tapper that Owens ‘had widespread support at 60 Minutes.

‘He’s dedicated his life to CBS and the broadcast and this was his last act of dedication to it,’ the source said.

‘It’s like a guy who has been battling for months against an attack, unable to defend the broadcast from inappropriate corporate influence. He pulls the pin from his last grenade. He sacrificed himself, hoping it might make our corporate overlords wake up and realize they risk destroying what makes 60 Minutes great.

‘It seems clear now, in a quest to sell the company, Shari Redstone and others will bow to presidential pressure,’ the source added, calling the news program the ‘crown jewels of American  broadcast journalism.

‘And they have no problem crushing it in their race to make a deal and make themselves richer.’

If the merger were to go through, Redstone is said to make approximately $8 billion – a point that Tapper nailed home as he concluded, ‘Hope the money’s worth it, Shari.’

For the deal to go through, however, Redstone and Ellison would need permission from Trump’s FCC Chair Brendan Carr – who previously ordered the network to turn over the unedited version of Harris’ interview.

But it has since been revealed that former NBCU exec Jeff Shell – who is now a senior executive at Skydance – had earlier tried to placate the president by sending him the original transcript.

That idea was quickly shot down by both Owens and CBS News and Stations CEO Wendy McMahon, those familiar with the matter told Status.

Not only that, the request left both execs irked, insiders said, citing the fact that the Skydance deal had – and still has – yet to be fully ironed out.

The executives now face a July deadline for the deal to be inked – causing even more pressure from Shell and Redstone, sources have said. 

Speaking to Status, staffers described a dynamic that’s seen camps of staffers steadily forming, with some backing Owens and McMahon, and others those at Skydance.   

Meanwhile, the billionaire software scion actively trying to acquire CBS’s parent, Larry Ellison’s son David Ellison, was seen sitting with Trump at UFC 314 Saturday – leading staffers this week to claim the summit serves as a poor omen for the network future.

One such employee told Status the summit serves as proof those set to lead CBS are already willing to bow to the president – something Owens and McMahon have made clear they are against.

Shell, on the other hand, has reportedly made clear to both McMahon and Owens privately that they need to get on board with a settlement – which he suggested would only be a temporary setback, even if a statement of wrongdoing were to be included.

The ultimatum spawned frustration and apparently paved the way for the decision seen from Owens today, as both he and McMahon continue to insist that CBS News did nothing wrong with its handling of the controversial interview.

CBS News staffers also seem to be in uproar over a now viral photo that shows the unlikely meetup between Ellison – whose dad is a well-known Trump supporter in Miami, after which the latter issued a scathing critique of both CBS and 60 Minutes yet again on his Truth Social platform.

‘It’s dejecting for reporters and producers to see one day before the president attacks “60 Minutes” – again – for doing accurate and fair journalism,’ one source told Status.

‘Anyone who believed Ellison might be a breath of fresh air after [Shari] Redstone and have the backbone to run a principled news organization is feeling pretty naïve today.’

As for the possibility of a settlement, one insider told Puck Monday it would be ‘a really odious pill [for CBS] swallow.’ 

Another said Trump may force the network to issue a public apology, with another industry vet adding, ‘I think [Trump] hates CBS and 60 Minutes more than he likes Larry Ellison’ – the latter being a well-known Trump supporter.

‘I’m not sure this deal can close.’

McMahon, meanwhile, responded to word of Owen’s resignation in a separate note to staff – in which she said she remains ‘committed’ to the show despite Owens’ departure.

‘The mission and the work remain our priority,’ she said – as insiders also said last month McMahon will likely lose her job before the Skydance deal goes through.

Owens, in his statement, thanked McMahon for ‘always [having the 60 Minutes teams’] back.’

‘She agrees that 60 Minutes needs to be run by a 60 Minute producer,’ he said.

DailyMail.com has reached out to CBS News for comment.