It’s about time…
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) released the unedited transcript handed over by CBS News of its controversial “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
The raw transcript showed CBS News had aired only the first half of her response to “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker’s question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not “listening” to the Biden administration in a preview clip that aired on “Face the Nation,” but aired only the second half of her response during the primetime special.
“But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” Whitaker said in the October 2024 interview. “The Wall Street Journal said that he — that your administration has repeatedly been blindsided by Netanyahu, and in fact, he has rebuffed just about all of your administration’s entreaties.”
“Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. And we’re not going to stop doing that. We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end,” Harris responded.
President Donald Trump’s FCC Brendan Carr ordered CBS News to hand over the unedited transcript as part of its investigation into whether the network violated the FCC’s “news distortion” policy after a complaint was filed.
“The policy says you can’t swap answers out to make it look like somebody said something entirely different,” Carr told Fox News’ Dana Perino on Monday, later adding it would have been “fine” if it was edited for length and clarity.
“CBS’s conduct is hard to explain,” Carr told Fox News Digital. “On the one hand, CBS immediately released the unredacted transcript of a recent interview with Vice President Vance. Yet for months they refused to release the one with Vice President Harris.”
“The FCC has now opened up a proceeding and is seeking public comment on the News Distortion complaint. Transparency here is important. The FCC’s review will continue, and we look forward to the public’s feedback,” Carr added.
In a preview clip that aired on “Face the Nation,” Harris was asked why it seemed like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S.
“Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region,” Harris responded in the “Face the Nation” clip.
Harris was mocked by conservatives for offering a lengthy “word salad” to Whitaker. But when that same question aired the following night in the primetime election special, a shorter, more focused answer from the vice president followed.
Critics accused CBS News of editing Harris’ “word salad” answer to shield the vice president from further backlash, and there were calls for the network to release the full transcript after it only shared transcripts of what had aired. CBS News refused to release the raw transcript at the time.
In October, Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS News alleging election interference over its handling of the “60 Minutes” interview, accusing the network of aiding his Democratic rival through deceptive editing just days before the election. (RELATED: Trump Files $10 Billion Lawsuit Against CBS News Over Edited Kamala Harris Interview)
