1 of 2 | President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office on Friday and might be offered a settlement to end his lawsuit against CBS News regarding its editing of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 60 Minutes interview in October. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
Feb. 1 (UPI) — CBS News officials will give the Federal Communications Commission an unedited transcript of former Vice President Kamala Harris‘ October interview on “60 Minutes” amid a $10 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday wrote CBS News to request a “full, unedited transcript and camera feeds” of Harris’ interview.
“We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do,” CBS News officials said in a prepared statement.
Trump accuses 60 Minutes staff of editing Harris’ responses to make them more appealing to voters when the interview aired in early October.
The Center for American Rights in October also filed a formal complaint with the FCC in which CAR officials accuse CBS of “engaging insignificant and intentional news distortion” when airing the same Harris interview on “Face the Nation” on Oct. 5 and “60 Minutes” on Oct. 6.
“This isn’t just about one interview or one network,” CAR President Daniel Suhr said in October.
“This is about the public’s trust in the media on critical issues of national security and international relations during one of the most consequential elections of our time,” Suhr said.
“When broadcasters manipulate interviews and distort reality, it undermines democracy itself,” he added. “The FCC must act swiftly to restore public confidence in our news media.”
FCC officials dismissed the CAR complaint on Jan. 16, but Carr re-opened the complaint shortly after Trump took office.
CBS News officials said they aired two portions of the same interview and response by Harris when asked about conflict in Gaza and deny any wrongdoing.
The question regarded why Harris thought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not listening to U.S. officials regarding the war with Hamas in Gaza.
“Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response,” CBS News officials said. “When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete or a movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point.”
Trump filed his lawsuit on Oct. 31 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas in Amarillo and named CBS Broadcasting Inc. and CBS Interactive Inc. as defendants.
He seeks $10 billion in damages while accusing CBS of attempting to “tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party as the heated 2024 president election … approaches its conclusion.”
Officials at CBS parent corporation Paramount Global are considering settling the lawsuit, which has caused consternation among CBS News employees, CNN Business reported on Friday.
Earlier this week, Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump and others who claimed their Facebook accounts were unlawfully shut down or blocked at the request of the U.S. government.
Meta will pay $22 million to a fund to support the construction of Trump’s presidential library and another $3 million is four people who joined Trump in the lawsuit filed in 2021.
Facebook banned Trump shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. His accounts were restored in 2023.
