FCC Orders CBS to Release Full ‘Unedited’ Transcript of Kamala Harris Interview- wna24
FCC Orders CBS to Release Transcript of Kamala Harris Interview | Image:
AP
Washington: In the midst of US President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, the network has been ordered to provide the full transcript of an interview with former US Vice President Kamala Harris. This interview, conducted prior to the presidential election, is now under scrutiny.
Paramount-owned CBS News said that it would submit the “full, unedited transcript and camera feeds” of the October interview to the Federal Communications Commission, as part of the legal proceedings.
In mid-October, the Center for American Rights filed a complaint accusing 60 Minutes of intentionally editing the interview. However, the complaint was dismissed before Trump’s second inauguration.
In a separate lawsuit filed in October in a federal court in Texas, Trump alleged that CBS News had deliberately altered the interview to damage his campaign during the presidential election.
Trump Appoints Brendan Carr as FCC Chairman, Reopens Interview Case
After Trump’s return to the White House, he appointed Brendan Carr as the new FCC Chairman, who later reopened the case regarding the edited interview.
The controversy stemmed from Harris’ response to a question about the Israel-Hamas war, which reportedly offended the 47th president.
In a teaser aired on Margaret Brennan’s Face the Nation, Harris was shown delivering what critics referred to as a “word salad,” which was quite different from the version that was actually broadcast.
CBS News defended its actions, stating that they edited Harris’ lengthy rebuttal due to the show’s one-hour time limit. The network maintained that the interview was “not doctored.”
CBS News Refutes Charges Made in $10Bn Lawsuit
CBS News denied the allegations made in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit, stating that the Face the Nation snippet and the 60 Minutes episode contained the “same question, same answer.”
In response to the case reopening, Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized her own agency, arguing that it was clear Trump was attacking media outlets that didn’t portray him favorably.
Gomez described the move as a “retaliatory” action by the government against broadcasters whose content or coverage was seen as unfavorable, as she told The New York Times.