"60 Minutes" is poised to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump as early as this week, or next. But the fallout has already begun. The broadcast's top producer — Oyster Bay native Bill Owens — resigned on April 22 while lead correspondent Scott Pelley explained in a postscript on this past Sunday's show that "he did it for us — and for you."

Obviously, there are questions here. Here are just a few:

On Nov. 1, three days before the election, and a day after "60 Minutes" aired an interview with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, the Trump campaign filed a $10 billion lawsuit (later amended to $20 billion) claiming the interview was edited to make her sound better on certain answers (most notably relating to the war in Gaza). Per the suit, this amounted to election interference. (Trump had declined to appear earlier on the same program.) CBS and parent company, Paramount Global, said the show did nothing wrong and that the interview had been "edited for length and clarity" — standard procedure with any TV interview.

The Federal Communications Commission held up the approval of Paramount Global's sale to Santa Monica, Ca.-based Skydance Media pending resolution of this suit, which is why the dispute has ended up in mediation. The FCC also made "60" post the unedited interview on YouTube — an unprecedented move (in the search field, type in "Harris 60 Minutes interview.") Harris chats amiably about all the art on the walls in her home, where this was conducted, while correspondent Bill Whitaker nods along politely. ("60 Minutes" has also posted the polished interview on YouTube for comparison purposes.)

Owens began as a summer intern at CBS in 1988, then rose to become only the third executive producer of "60 Minutes," which is why this departure was so shocking. This show's bosses simply don't quit, but get "eased out" or fired. This broadcast — really, this institution — has always existed as a separate and autonomous fiefdom within CBS, unsullied by corporate interference. Or so the legend goes. But as pressure mounted over that delayed Skydance merger, Paramount's chief executive Shari Redstone demanded various layers of editorial oversight on Owens and "60 Minutes," according to multiple reports.

There are three now (including the president of CBS). Among these overseers include Susan Zirinsky, president of the CBS production unit, See It Now Studios. She's a legendary figure at CBS in her own right, also a former rival of Owens for the top job at "60 Minutes."

Owens told the staff that he'd lost the independence he needed to run the place, while Pelley said in that postscript that "none of us is happy" about the new oversight structure either. (Owens couldn't be reached for comment.)

Sure, and a movie was even made about it. In 1995, as CBS was negotiating to be sold to Westinghouse, "60 Minutes" initially killed a story on tobacco industry whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand. CBS didn't want to get sued by Wigand's employer, Brown & Williamson which — per widespread speculation at the time — would have held up the Westinghouse deal. (That 1999 movie? "The Insider," starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe.)

It's Trump. He's had a long, rancorous relationship with the networks, and with "60 Minutes" in particular. When Pelley was anchor of "Evening News" (2011-17), he called out the candidate, then president, on falsehoods or misstatements. While Pelley has been lead correspondent at "60 Mnutes," the show hasn't let up the pressure — this Sunday, a scheduled segment will examine how Trump has pressured law firms through executive orders.

According to some speculation, that's a roundabout reason why Owens quit — to protect others at the program. The thinking is that his resignation will force the corporate masters to think twice before interfering with editorial. There is flawed logic to this: "Everyone's replaceable," says Mark Feldstein, chair of broadcast journalism at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism — formerly an investigative correspondent with ABC News and CNN. "They got rid of Edward R. Murrow for God's sake. "I could easily see Pelley departing, voluntarily, or otherwise."

Any apology for the Harris interview will be met with widespread condemnation at "60 Minutes." While some industry observers believe the framing of the interview might have been handled more adroitly few seriously believe the interview was improperly edited. The fear — so far unfounded, — is that "60 Minutes" will go soft on the Trump administration.

 Another: That the new owners, assuming the deal ever goes through, will simply sell the program to another media company. Media historian and University of Maine professor Michael Socolow (son of Walter Cronkite's producer Sanford Socolow) says it's all about the money, as always. "If it maintains its profitability, it will retain a certain level of independence. If it doesn't, it won't."