A conservative watchdog has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission accusing CBS of distortions for airing redacted responses from Vice President Kamala Harris' interview on “60 Minutes.”
The Center for American Rights (CAR), a nonprofit law firm, asked the FCC to order WCBS-TV, the network's New York station, to publish the full, unedited transcript of the “60 Minutes” interview.
“This is not just about one intelligence or one network,” said the President of the Central African Republic, Daniel Suhr.
“This is about public trust in the media on key issues of national security and international relations in one of the most important elections of our times. 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 faced a wave of backlash for airing an edited version of Harris' response to US relations with Israel on October 7, broadcasting her response in the form of a “word salad.” the same question while promoting CBS' upcoming “Face the Nation” special the day before.
In his response to an on-air question from Bill Whitaker Sunday on “Face the Nation,” Harris said:
“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 or the result of many things, including our support for what needs to happen in the region.”
During the following night's primetime broadcast on “60 Minutes,” Harris' response was clarified: “We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about our position on the need to end this war.”
CBS maintains that the response addressed the same question to Whitaker but was edited due to time constraints.
But Suhr rejected this excuse.
“CBS crosses the line when production reaches the point where a caller's response is so altered that it is a materially different response,” the filing said.
Since then, Harris' campaign has sought to distance itself from the online editorial controversy.
According to the FCC, news distortion “must relate to a material event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of a news report” to be considered a violation.
CAR argued that CBS's redaction of the Harris interview met the requirements for infringement.
“This question is extremely important – U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East in the middle of a war – and the timing is also significant: weeks before the presidential election and with a candidate who has given very few press interviews,” the filing reads. he said.
Suhr, who worked as policy director for former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, founded 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, precedent-setting litigation, according to Suhr's biography, which she co-authored with the Federalist Society.
Hughes and Suhr are currently representing several Columbia University students in a lawsuit against anti-Israel protesters who organized pro-Palestinian encampments on school grounds.
