FCC chair calls CBS News' conduct 'hard to explain' following release of Kamala Harris interview transcript

https://www.foxnews.com/media/fcc-chair-calls-cbs-news-conduct-hard-
explain-following-release-kamala-harris-interview-transcript

Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr knocked CBS 
News' conduct following the release of the network's unedited transcript 
of its "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

The FCC released the raw transcript and footage it obtained from CBS News 
of its October 2024 sit-down with Harris that has been at the center of 
controversy. 

"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."

Carr referred to CBS News' releasing the transcript of "Face the Nation" 
anchor Margaret Brennan's interview with Vice President JD Vance last 
month.

"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. 

CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for 
comment. 

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 exchange. "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. 

‘60 MINUTES’ TRANSCRIPT AT CENTER OF TRUMP'S LAWSUIT AGAINST CBS IS VITAL 
TO INVESTIGATION, FCC CHAIR SAYS

CBS News separately released the raw transcript and unedited footage from 
the interview on its website. 

"We are posting the same transcripts and videos of our interview with Vice 
President Kamala Harris that we provided to the FCC. They show – 
consistent with 60 Minutes' repeated assurances to the public – that the 
60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful," CBS News wrote. In 
reporting the news, journalists regularly edit interviews – for time, 
space or clarity. In making these edits, 60 Minutes is always guided by 
the truth and what we believe will be most informative to the viewing 
public – all while working within the constraints of broadcast 
television."  

The network went on to say it aired a "longer portion" of Harris' answer 
on "Face the Nation" while airing a "shorter excerpt" during the primetime 
special without acknowledging that none of what aired in the preview clip 
was featured on "60 Minutes."

"As the full transcript shows, we edited the interview to ensure that as 
much of the vice president's answers to 60 Minutes' many questions were 
included in our original broadcast while fairly representing those 
answers. 60 Minutes' hard-hitting questions of the vice president speak 
for themselves," CBS News added.

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.

In a preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation," Whitaker asked his 
Netanyahu question to Harris about him not "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. 

‘60 MINUTES’ TRANSCRIPT AT CENTER OF TRUMP'S LAWSUIT AGAINST CBS IS VITAL 
TO INVESTIGATION, FCC CHAIR SAYS

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.

"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 
said.

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. 

"To paper over Kamala’s ‘word salad’ weakness, CBS used its national 
platform on 60 Minutes to cross the line from the exercise of judgment in 
reporting to deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news," the lawsuit 
stated.

Trump attorneys argued the edits were done in an effort to "attempt to tip 
the scales in favor of the Democratic Party as the heated 2024 
Presidential Election — which President Trump is leading — approaches its 
conclusion."

"CBS’ partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference 
through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated 
to confuse, deceive, and mislead the public," the lawsuit read. 

CBS parent company Paramount Global is reportedly considering settling the 
suit ahead of a planned merger with Skydance Media in hopes of preventing 
potential retribution by Trump's FCC, which has the authority to halt the 
multibillion-dollar transaction. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling 
shareholder, is reportedly in favor of settling with the president. 


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and 
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem.  It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden 
fiasco, President Trump.  

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.