Paramount "side deal" drama

President Trump on Friday suggested reports that he brokered a side deal with Paramount Global's future owners for millions of dollars' worth of public service announcements in support of conservative causes were accurate.

State of play: Paramount denies its settlement included PSAs "or anything related" to them, fueling confusion around who agreed to what exactly.

😬 Why it matters: Any sort of side deal guaranteeing PSAs in addition to the settlement would fuel angst within CBS' newsroom and the free press community, who believe that Paramount capitulated to President Trump in settling for the sake of getting its corporate merger done.

Catch up quick: CBS parent Paramount Global last week said it would pay $16 million to settle a voter interference lawsuit filed by Trump last October.

• The New York Post and Fox News had reported that Paramount's future owners at Skydance Media also agreed to set aside millions of dollars' worth of PSAs in support of conservative causes in the future.

What they're saying: Paramount denied its settlement involved PSAs.

• "Contrary to some news reports or media speculation, Paramount's settlement with President Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs."
• "Paramount has no knowledge of any promises or commitments made to President Trump other than those set forth in the settlement proposed by the mediator and accepted by the parties," it added. "The material terms of the settlement agreement in principle are those disclosed by us yesterday."

📢 Between the lines: A few days later, Trump told reporters, "We did a deal for about $16 million plus $16 million — or maybe more than that in advertising. So it's a combination of 16 plus 16 ... So it's like $32 to maybe $35 million. I think that's what they did."

• Skydance didn't comment.

The big picture: Paramount's settlement likely clears the way for it to merge with Skydance in a deal that's backed in part by private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners.

• Skydance is run by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison.
• Speaking of the deal last week, Trump said, "Larry Ellison is a friend of mine. He's a great guy. I think he's the buyer."
• But he denied the assertion that Paramount's settlement was linked to its ability to gain regulatory approval for its merger.
• "No, it has nothing to do with that. This is totally separate," he said.

What to watch: A second 90-day extension of the Paramount/Skydance deal went into effect Monday, giving both parties more time to finalize the merger agreement with the FCC, per Deadline.