FILE PHOTO: Bill Owens of the show "60 Minutes Sports" speaks on stage while Jeff Fager listens during the Showtime panel presentation of the 2013 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, California January 12, 2013. REUTERS/Bret Hartman/File Photo
A spokesman for President Donald Trump, known for his inflammatory statements, took the opportunity late Tuesday to publicly jab a former executive producer for "60 Minutes," who resigned Tuesday due to concerns the company was interfering with their editorial coverage.
Bill Owens resigned citing a loss of editorial independence, as corporate leadership at CBS parent company Paramount Global seeks to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump over the program's interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump's lawsuit accused "60 Minutes" of deceptively editing its October interview with Harris to boost her odds of winning. Paramount executives have viewed the lawsuit as a hurdle in its proposed merger with Skydance Media.
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Owens said in a memo, "Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience. So, having defended this show – and what we stand for – from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward.”
“The show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer," said Owens.
CBS and Trump’s team have been in talks to settle the lawsuit.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung pulled no punches in celebrating Owens' resignation.
"Karma is a b----. Bill Owens is a liar and fraud. He called me during the campaign to beg for an interview with President Trump. When it was clear they didn't intend to be fair, we told them no. Then when the Kamala episode aired, they misrepresented our interaction with them," Cheung wrote on X.