Former CBS News staffers are calling for an independent investigation into “60 Minutes'' over the Kamala Harris interview scandal, but CBS remains adamant about digging into the story and releasing the full, unedited transcript. Despite refusing to do so, the Post learned.
The long-running news show has come under fire for allegedly editing the Democratic presidential candidate's answers to “60 Minutes'' correspondent Bill Whitaker's questions about Israel during a Monday special.
Her response was a far cry from the “word salad” the vice president offered in a clip promoting the interview aired on “Face the Nation” the day before.
The controversy led media members and critics, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, to question Tiffany Network's ethical standards. “I think there needs to be an outside investigation,” one former CBS News reporter told the Post Thursday. “Clearly, there is a problem here. If they cared about journalistic integrity, they would conduct an investigation or release the full record.”
Another CBS official said the discrepancy in answers made the network's flagship show appear “biased.”
“Their credibility is being questioned, and so is their impartiality,” the official said. “Don’t we need a thorough review of what went wrong?”
On Thursday, CBS again denied multiple requests from the Post to release the full transcript.
The network did not comment on whether it planned to launch an investigation into the matter.
But CBS has a history of releasing full transcripts of news programs and launching investigations.
In 2013, the station investigated terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities for a segment on “60 Minutes” with correspondent Lara Logan. Benghazi The accident killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
The investigation, led by then-Executive Director of Standards and Practices Al Ortiz, discredited the report and found it “flawed in several respects.” Logan and her producer were asked to take a vacation.
Two sources suggested that CBS had tapped Ortiz, who retired in 2012 after 43 years at the station, to provide external scrutiny of Harris' interviews.
Ortiz did not respond to requests for comment.
CBS has released full transcripts in the past. Katherine Herridge's 2020 interview with Trump, 2019 interview with Jan Crawford and then-Attorney General Bill Barr.
“60 Minutes” earlier this year Full transcript provided to Bloomberg News Interview with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Releasing the full transcript would clarify where Harris' answers came from, but it could also raise further questions about “60 Minutes''' impartiality.
Other networks are also releasing full, unedited transcripts of high-profile interviews. President Biden interview with ABC News in July and CNN spoke with Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, in August.
CBS is taking issue with two videos that have circulated side by side on social media showing discrepancies 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 Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn't seem to be listening,” he says.
Harris answers“Well, Bill, as a result of the work that we did, there were a lot of Israeli movements in the region, and these movements supported our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. It was prompted by, or very much a result of, a number of things, including.”
On “60 Minutes,” the camera zooms in on Whitaker asking the same question.
Harris' reaction was different.
“We're not going to stop pursuing what it takes to clarify where the United States stands on the need to end this war.”
One network official said it was the same shot as Mr. Whitaker, but focused on the correspondent's face.
Officials didn't know why “60 Minutes'' aired the tight shot of Whitaker.
“Why are the answers to the same question so different?” a former CBS News staffer asked. “This has 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 reporters say “60 Minutes'' was still editing the program when the promo aired, so there may have been a miscommunication between the program and the department that edits the promo. said.
In the best-case scenario, Harris' answer to “60 Minutes” might have come on the heels of her verbose answer in the “Face the Nation” clip.
They said if her answer was part of an expanded response to the same question, no journalistic misconduct occurred.
But if that answer came from another question about Israel and was disguised as an answer to Mr. Whitaker's question, it would be ethically problematic.
“'60 Minutes' is held to the highest journalistic standards,” said a former CBS staffer. “Releasing the transcripts will allow us to answer everyone's questions and protect the integrity of the stories we broadcast.”
“The stakes are too high. It's a presidential election. Trump wants records and journalists want answers,” the source concluded.
The discrepancy in the clip has led some people on the internet to speculate that 60 Minutes may have taken answers from other parts of the interview and edited them to look like answers to Whitaker's questions in order to make the Harrises look better. The theory spread.
It is also unclear whether Mr. Harris was allowed to answer the same question in a separate question.
Officials close to the network say the interview was edited for time constraints and clarity, but big questions still remain about where Harris' responses came from and why they were edited the way they were. has not answered.
The source added that “Face the Nation” had a longer version of the “60 Minutes” exchange and that it was a “normal edit.”
“It is normal practice for all television broadcasts to be edited to fit the time,” a TV news source said. “There is no deception.”
The Harris campaign distanced itself from the CBS editorial row Wednesday night as officials speculated that there was pressure from the vice president's team to give a more concise and forceful response.
“We do not control CBS' production decisions and defer questions to CBS,” a Harris campaign aide said. told Variety.
In recent days, President Trump He accused CBS of “election interference.” Posted on Truth Social Tuesday: “Big fake news scam by CBS and 60 Minutes. Her real answers were crazy or stupid so they actually tried to save her, or at least make her look good. I replaced it with a different answer.
He continued: “It's a fake news scam and it's completely illegal. Please take away the CBS license. It's election interference.”
On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel said: pushed back against President Trump Attack on a broadcasting station. She said his request to strip CBS of its license was a “threat to free speech” and “should not be ignored.”
