CBS News reacted once again to its ongoing editing scandal by… doubling down on refusing to be transparent and saying they’re under no obligation to tell the truth. The once-proud network issued two versions of Kamala Harris’ answer about Israel and the war in Gaza on a recent “60 Minutes" episode—and of course, only one logically can be how she responded in real-time.
But “60 Minutes” doesn’t care. After Trump threatened to sue the outlet over their blatant disregard for any sort of journalistic standards, they told the former president to take a hike:
Lawyers for CBS News are rebuffing a legal threat from Donald Trump over the network’s “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, telling the former president his demands are based on a “faulty premise.”
In a blunt letter to Trump’s legal counsel, the network on Wednesday said the First Amendment “fiercely protects” the editorial judgments made by “60 Minutes,” the network’s flagship newsmagazine.
“For that reason,” CBS said, Trump has no legal basis to sue, “and I note that you do not identify one,” the letter from CBS News senior Vice President for legal affairs Gayle C. Sproul stated. “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.” [Emphsias mine.]
Oh, the bravery.
Although the Trump War Room account posted this Sunday, the point still applies: release the transcripts. What are you hiding?!
Two weeks after being caught, 60 Minutes has now released a very defensive statement claiming they did not "deceitfully edit" Kamala's word salad.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 20, 2024
Well, we have good news for you, @60Minutes: There's a simple way you can clear it all up.
RELEASE THE FULL, UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT! pic.twitter.com/UJ18mFJU7d
Background:
'60 Minutes' Finally Makes a Statement on the Harris Interview Scandal, Gets Roasted in Response
The Lie-Able Sources Podcast: Have We Just Seen the Worst Journalism of an Already Horrendous Year?
Calls for CBS to Release the Kamala Interview Transcript Grow Deafening As Their Reputation Burns
If CBS was simply hoping this stain on their already tattered reputation would get lost in the news cycle, they appear to have been mistaken. People are noticing, and it’s a bad, bad look for the network.
They just keep using weasel words to avoid transparency, however:
In her latest response, Sproul added, “Editing is a necessity for all broadcasters to enable them to present the news in the time available, and that is what ’60 Minutes’ did here, as it does with its other reports.” She further noted that providing an unedited transcript to Trump’s team could allow others to similarly push or threaten news organizations in the future.
It’s not the only instance of journalistic malfeasance for the network, however, as they try to influence voter opinion less than two weeks out of a historic presidential election. After leftist rag The Atlantic went with a dubious piece claiming that the former president had denigrated a member of the military—a story which multiple people have denied—CBS opened their broadcast with it anyway.
It is astounding that an unsubstantiated allegation — denied on-record by multiple people present for the claimed incident & rejected by the victim’s family — put forward by a *lone, anonymous source* made it into print & immediately became the CBS Evening News’ lead story: pic.twitter.com/UlzZSSXHwd
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 24, 2024
We’ve seen just how low the desperate mainstream media will go, and it’s only bound to get worse as we approach election day and their favored candidate continues to struggle.
Ignore them.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member