REPORT: CBS agrees to release transcript of Harris interview

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From the New York Times: CBS News plans to comply with a request from the Federal Communications Commission for the unedited transcript of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris that aired last year and became the subject of a lawsuit brought against the network by President Trump.

The network’s news division received a letter of inquiry from the F.C.C., which is led by a Trump appointee, Brendan Carr, on Wednesday evening. The commission requested “the full, unedited transcript and camera feeds” from the interview with Ms. Harris, which aired on “60 Minutes” in October.

“We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do,” a CBS News spokesman said on Friday.

Ahead of the presidential election Donald J. Trump sued CBS for $10 billion, after the network deceptively edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, deleting her original ‘word salad’ response to one question and inserting a completely different answer, which made her appear more composed.

Paramount is now in talks with Trump’s legal team to reach a settlement on the case.

The New York Times notes that “CBS News had refused several requests by Mr. Trump last year to release a full transcript of the Harris interview, which aired during a special election episode of “60 Minutes” on Oct. 7.”

Republicans now have the controlling majority at the FCC, and Anna Gomez, a Democratic commissioner at the FCC, is fuming that CBS has been required to hand over the transcript.

Gomez blasted out a statement on X and bizarrely claimed this move is “censoring” CBS.  She wrote:

Let’s be clear. This is a retaliatory move by the government against broadcasters whose content or coverage is perceived to be unfavorable. It is designed to instill fear in broadcast stations and influence a network’s editorial decisions. 🧵

During these last two weeks, the FCC has shown a concerning pattern of implementing the will of the Administration on issues that go far beyond our core responsibilities.

These actions disregard long-standing norms and ignore the mandate granted by Congress to the FCC to act as an independent agency. They also set a dangerous precedent that threatens to undermine trust in the agency’s role as an impartial regulator.

This latest action to weaponize our broadcast licensing authority is no different. It revives a complaint that had been previously dismissed by FCC experts due to lack of evidence and because it fell far short of the high standard needed for agency action.

The Communications Act clearly prohibits the Commission from censoring broadcasters and the 1st Amendment protects journalistic decisions against government intimidation. We must respect the rule of law, uphold the Constitution, and safeguard public trust in our oversight.

REPORT: Paramount in Settlement Talks With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit

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