Watchdog files FCC complaint seeking release of ’60 Minutes’ unredacted Kamala Harris transcript

A conservative watchdog filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission accusing CBS of misrepresentation for airing edited responses from Vice President Kamala Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview.

The Center for American Rights (CAR), a nonprofit law firm, asked the FCC to order WCBS-TV — the network station in New York City — to release the full, unredacted transcript of the “60 Minutes” interview.

“This is not just about an interview or a network,” said CAR President Daniel Suhr.

“This is about public trust in the media on critical issues of national security and international relations during one of the most important elections of our time. When broadcasters manipulate interviews and distort reality, it undermines democracy itself. The FCC must act quickly to restore public confidence in our news media.”

The Tiffany Network has faced a backlash for airing an edited version of Harris’ answer about US relations with Israel on Oct. 7, after it aired her “word salad” response to the same question during a promo for the upcoming special on CBS “Face the Nation” the day before.

In her response to a question from Bill Whitaker that aired Sunday on “Face the Nation,” Harris said:

“Well, Bill… the work we’ve done has resulted in a number of moves in that region by Israel that have been driven by a lot or as a result of a lot of things, including our advocacy of what needs to happen in the region.”

During the prime-time broadcast of “60 Minutes” the next night, Harris’ response came clean: “We’re not going to stop pursuing what’s necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war. finished.”

CBS has claimed that the answer was to the same question from Whitaker, but it was redacted for time constraints.

But Suhr rejected the excuse.

“CBS crosses the line when its production reaches the point of so transforming an interviewee’s response that it is a fundamentally different response,” the filing states.

Harris’ campaign has since struggled to distance itself from the network’s editing controversy.

According to the FCC, the distortion of news “must involve a significant event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of the news report” to be considered a policy violation.

CAR argued that CBS’s editing of the Harris interview met these infringement requirements.

“The question is extremely consequential — U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East in the midst of a war — and the timing is also significant: weeks before a presidential election and with a candidate who has given very few news interviews,” the letter said. . said.

Suhr — who worked as policy director for former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — started CAR last year with fellow attorney Pat Hughes.

The Center’s mission is to advance free speech, free enterprise and parental freedom in education through strategic litigation and precedent, according to Suhr’s biography as a contributor to the Federal Society.

Hughes and Suhr currently represent several Columbia University students in a lawsuit against anti-Israel demonstrators who organized the school’s pro-Palestinian camps.