CBS Fires Back at Trump After Legal Threats

Recently, Kamala Harris sat down with “60 Minutes” to do a pre-election interview.

CBS aired two different answers to the same questions, which created havoc, ultimately leading to Donald Trump threatening the network.

The Interview

We all know Harrs is infamous for her word salads, and she served up quite a few of them during this interview. That was not the problem, however. The problem was that “60 Minutes” released a trailer of the interview, asking Harris about the conflict in Gaza.

In the teaser, Harris stated, “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.”

When the show aired, the answer was far more to the point and confident, with the network airing, “The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles.”

People immediately noticed the two different answers, including Trump, who accused the network of editing the interview to make Harris look better. The Harris campaign shot back that it had nothing to do with the editing, that it had not requested any editing, and that what the show chose to release was on CBS, not her campaign.

Trump Goes Nuclear

Trump went off after the special aired, demanding that the FCC investigate the incident and even calling for the network’s license to be suspended. Initially, the FCC pushed back against Trump, but eventually, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr called for a full transcript to be released.

He stated, "My FCC colleague, Republican Commissioner [Nathan] Simington, has been very active on this. What he's pointed out is the news distortion rule is a very, very narrow rule at the FCC. In almost every case, it doesn't apply because it could get into sort of editorial decisions that are protected by the First Amendment. But what he said is that CBS should release the transcript.

"And the reason why this complaint is not frivolous is because the rules say, for instance, the example we've given is, if you take an answer to a question that is a 'yes' and you replace the answer of 'no' from a different question… that's something that would potentially fall within the news distortion rule.”

This led to Trump threatening litigation if the network did not release the full and unedited interview. Trump attorney Edward Paltzik penned a letter stating, “[I]n contemplation of possible litigation, we demand that you preserve all communications and documents relating to this interview, together with any edits of the interview’s content, and that you refrain from destroying any relevant communications or documents.”

CBS Responds

CBS has now broken its silence with pure defiance, claiming Trump’s threat would be a violation of First Amendment rights, but I am not sure people are buying this. Yes, there is the freedom of the press, but the press also has the duty to be honest, and if it was deceptively editing the interview or coaching Harris through answers, the American people have a right to know. If that were taking place, that would be more of an arm of the Democrat Party, or, as I have been saying, closer to state-run media.

CBS News' senior vice president of legal affairs, Gayle C. Sproul, responded to the letter, stating, "Your letter on behalf of Mr. Trump is based on the faulty premise that 60 MINUTES distorted its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris ('the Interview') in order to present her in a positive light. That, as 60 MINUTES has said in its Statement, is false.”

The letter goes on to explain its editing process, then concludes, "The First Amendment fiercely protects these editorial judgments… For that reason, no private right of action exists here and I note that you do not identify one. Nor is there any legal basis for your demand that we provide you with the unedited transcript of the Interview, which we decline to do.”

You guys know me well enough to know that I don’t pull punches on these types of issues, and I honestly believe that Trump has a case here. If the network is not covering something up, why not release the tapes and transcripts to prove they did nothing wrong? Considering the state of today’s media, I am very much looking forward to seeing how all this plays out. My personal feeling… I think CBS got caught with its hand in the cookie jar and is now trying to ensure the lid stays shut.