FCC releases CBS News’ raw ’60 Minutes’ transcript from Kamala Harris interview
The Federal Communication Commission 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.
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The raw transcript showed CBS aired two different portions of the same response then-Vice President Kamala Harris gave to “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker. (Screenshots/CBS News)
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.
CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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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.
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.
Federal Communication Commission chairman Brendan Carr released the unedited transcript of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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 in the primetime special.
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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.
President Trump filed a lawsuit against CBS News alleging election interference over the airing of two responses that aired from the “60 Minutes” interview with Harris. (Left: (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images), Center: Screenshot/60Minutes, Right: (Photo by Andy Manis/Getty Images))
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.
