Extortion

Paramount, parent of CBS, settles a lawsuit with Trump. It is a win for Trump.

One could call it use of leverage. Or hardball. Or sharp business. I think the most honest word for it is extortion.

It sends a chilling message. That is the point.

Trump accused the TV show 60 Minutes of unfairly editing an interview with then-candidate Kamala Harris. He sued for $10 billion, then changed it to $20 billion. The lawsuit was ridiculous on its merits, and easily defendable as a matter of First Amendment free speech and freedom of the press. The Freedom of the Press Foundation called Trump's lawsuit "beyond frivolous." But after his election, Trump appointed a new head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brenden Carr, who promptly announced a probe of a CBS-owned New York affiliate TV station. That probe gummed up the works of a multi-billion dollar planned sale of Paramount, the corporate parent of CBS and the 60 Minutes program, to Skydance Media.

That was the squeeze.

Paramount capitulated. Settling the lawsuit had nothing to do with the merits of the case. It had everything to do with Trump using the government regulatory power to interfere with the planned sale of the parent company. The extortion was so naked, and Trump's legal claim so weak, that the payment was widely described as a simple bribe, a $16 million payment to Trump for nothing other than an action by his government.

This billboard ran in Times Square, depicting Paramount owner Shari Redstone, handing cash to Trump.

A deal this flagrant needs a perfunctory cleanup. Paramount issued a statement claiming the settlement was "completely separate from, and unrelated to, the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process." No one believes that. The bribe issue was addressed by making the settlement checks to Trump's attorneys and to the Trump presidential library, not Trump personally. See? No money to Trump, at least not directly. Trump's spokespeople helped with a pretext of their own: "CBS and Paramount Global realized the strength of this historic case and had no choice but to settle." No one believes that, but we are not supposed to believe it.

This is a big win for Trump in the form of money for the Trump presidential library, but more importantly for the precedent and chilling effect. Every media organization intersects with government regulators somewhere -- in TV licensing, in financial transactions, in antitrust matters -- so everyone is vulnerable. Trump demonstrated that he will make pretextual claims backed by the power of the federal government. The fact that Trump's 60 Minutes claim was frivolous is a feature, not a bug. It shows that there is no "safe harbor." Trump could strike anywhere and over nothing, and he has the tools of the Justice Department and cooperation of the regulatory agencies.

We see a pattern here. Random, pretextual, apparently arbitrary use of presidential power is a feature. In immigration detention, ICE picks up and in a single day deports a long-standing,well-behaved resident who is thoroughly integrated into her community. Why her? It sends a message that no one is exempt. There is no safe harbor.

With universities, the sudden announcement of cuts of medical research grants sends a message. There is no university program so valuable and popular in the public mind that cutting it is beyond Trump. So, universities need quick action: Examine your system clean them up. Rename and cut programs that mention diversity or inclusion. There is no safe harbor. If Trump will try to squash Harvard he would go after anyone.

Federal employees -- even already understaffed FAA flight controllers and forest fire fighters -- can suffer instant new reduction in force orders. One need not have done something controversial like enforce an environmental rule or deny a drilling permit or perform an IRS audit on a friend of Trump. Anyone can be fired. Keep your head down. Don't risk coming to Trump's attention. His department heads are on the lookout and they want to be pro-active. There is no safe harbor.

Cruelty, fear, and arbitrariness are features. Even if it is an admitted mistake of identity or guilt, you might get sent to a hellhole in El Salvador or Alligator Alcatraz, and Trump will try to keep you here under some sort of colorable pretext. He will claim whatever he wants, and there will be hell to pay.

Don't disappoint him. Anticipate his whims.