Former CBS News employees are demanding an independent investigation into “60 Minutes” amid the growing Kamala Harris interview scandal — even as the network stubbornly digs its heels and refuses to release the full, unedited transcript, The Post has learned.
The long-running news program has come under fire after allegedly correcting the Democratic presidential candidate's response to “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker's question about Israel during Monday's special.
Her response was markedly different from the “word salad” the vice president delivered in a clip promoting the interview shown a day earlier by “Face the Nation.”
The controversy has prompted media pundits and critics, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, to question ethical standards at the Tiffany Network. “I think there should be an outside investigation,” one former CBS News journalist told The Post on Thursday. “Obviously there is a problem here. If they cared about journalistic integrity, they would have conducted an investigation or released the full transcript.”
A second CBS source said the discrepancies in responses give the impression that the network's flagship show is “biased.”
“Their credibility has been questioned and their impartiality has been questioned,” the source said. “Don't you need a detailed review of what went wrong?”
On Thursday, CBS again declined The Post's repeated requests for the full transcript.
The network has not commented on whether it plans to launch an investigation into the matter.
However, CBS has a history of both publishing full transcripts of its newscasts and launching investigations.
In 2013, the network examined a segment of “60 Minutes” by correspondent Lara Logan about the terrorist attack on the American compound in Benghazi, as a result of which Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died.
The investigation, led by then-executive director of standards and practices Al Ortiz, discredited the reports, calling them “deficient in several respects.” Logan and her producer were asked to take time off.
Two sources suggested that CBS reached out to Ortiz, who retired in 2012 after 43 years with the network, to conduct an outside review of the Harris interview.
Ortiz did not respond to requests for comment.
CBS has also released full transcripts in the past. It published Catherine Herridge's 2020 interview with Trump as well as Jan Crawford's 2019 interview with then-Attorney General Bill Barr.
Earlier this year, “60 Minutes” provided Bloomberg News with the full transcript of an interview with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Releasing the full transcript would provide clarity about the source of Harris' response, but it could also raise more questions about the impartiality of “60 Minutes.”
Other networks also publish full, unedited transcripts of interviews with senior figures, such as ABC News' interview with President Biden in July and CNN's interview with Harris and her running mate Tim Waltz in August.
At issue in the CBS case are two clips that circulated side by side on social media showing a discrepancy in Harris' answers to the same question.
In the “Face the Nation” clip, a wide shot shows Whitaker asking Harris about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
“But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening,” he says.
replies Harris: “Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of Israeli moves in this region that have largely been driven by many things or the result of many things, including our support for what needs to happen in the region.”
On “60 Minutes,” the camera focuses on Whitaker as he asks the same question.
Harris's response was different.
“We will not stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to clearly state its position on the need to end this war.”
A network insider said it was the same photo of Whitaker, only with more focus on the correspondent's face.
The insider didn't know why “60 Minutes” aired Whitaker's tight shot.
“Why is the answer to the same question so different?” – asked a former CBS News employee. “This needs to be answered. Was this answer a continuation of a longer answer or was it an answer that came much later in the interview.”
Former CBS journalists said there was a possible misunderstanding between the show and the promotions editing department because “60 Minutes” was still editing the show when the promo appeared.
At best, Harris's response to “60 Minutes” could have come shortly after the long-winded answer she gave in the “Face the Nation” clip.
They found that if her answer was part of an extended answer to the same question, there was no journalistic misconduct.
However, if the answer comes from another question about Israel and is intended to look like an answer to Whitaker's question, then that is ethically problematic.
“'60 Minutes' meets the highest journalistic standards,” said a former CBS employee. “Publishing the transcript would answer everyone's questions and allow them to stand up for the integrity of the story being broadcast.”
“The stakes are too high. This is the presidential election. Trump is asking for a transcript and journalists for answers,” the source concluded.
The discrepancy in the clips led to theories circulating online that “60 Minutes” took an answer from another part of the interview and reworked it to look like an answer to Whitaker's question to make Harris look better.
It is also unclear whether Harris was allowed to answer the same question from a different angle.
Sources close to the network say the interview has been edited for time and clarity reasons, but that still doesn't answer the more important question of where Harris' response came from and why it was edited that way.
The source added that “Face The Nation” had a longer version of the exchange on “60 Minutes” and that it was a “normal edit.”
“Normal practice for any television broadcast is timely editing,” said a television news insider. “There is no lie.”
Harris' campaign distanced itself from the CBS editing snafu Wednesday night amid speculation from sources that it may have been pressure from the vice president's team to give a more concise and stronger response.
“We do not control CBS's production decisions and we refer questions to CBS,” Harris campaign advisers told Variety.
In recent days, Trump accused CBS of “election interference,” posting on Truth Social Tuesday: “A gigantic fake news scam run by CBS and 60 Minutes. Her REAL ANSWER WAS CRAZY OR STUPID, so they basically REPLACED it with another answer to save her or at least make her look better.
He continued: “A scam based on fake news that is completely illegal. GET YOUR CBS LICENSE. Election interference.”
On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel pushed back against Trump's attacks on the radio station. She called his demand to strip CBS of its license “threats against free speech” that “should not be ignored.”
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