CBS News is hitting back at former President Donald Trump's legal threats against the station over its “60 Minutes'' interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, saying CBS News is protected by the First Amendment and that he has no legal rights to do so. He claimed that he had no position.
Earlier this week, FOX News Digital released the full transcript of a letter President Trump's lawyer Edward Andrew Palczyk sent to CBS News on behalf of his client after airing two different responses to a “60 Minutes” interview. It was reported for the first time that the agency had been requested to do so. question. Trump's lawyers also asked CBS to preserve all documents and communications related to the interview pending a potential legal battle.
CBS News declined to release the full text, according to a letter sent to Palczyk in response to CBS News, which was obtained by FOX News Digital.
“Your letter on behalf of Mr. Trump is based on the false premise that 60 Minutes distorted the interview ('The Interview') to present Vice President Kamala Harris in a positive light. As 60 Minutes said in its article, that statement is false,'' CBS News senior vice president of legal affairs Gail C. Sproul began her letter to Palczyk on Wednesday.
President Trump sends letter to CBS requesting unredacted “60 Minutes'' Harris recordings, threatening potential lawsuit
CBS News has hit back at former President Trump's lawyer, mocking his demand that the network release the full text of his “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
The network denied President Trump's claims that he had “admitted” to “tampering” with Harris' interview to mislead the American public, saying “the interview was not tampered with,” and that the show had “substituted answers to questions.” “I did not hide any part of the president's answer.” It's becoming a problem. ”
“60 MINUTES presented the interview fairly and in a manner that was not misleading in order to provide information to its viewers.Indeed, your claim that 60 MINUTES committed any evil act is completely unfounded. No,” Sproul wrote.
“Instead, this interview was edited to fit the time with the goal of allowing the public to hear from the Vice President on as many topics as possible in a 21-minute interview,” she continued. . “For all broadcasters, editing is necessary to get the news out in a limited amount of time, and 60 MINUTES, like any other news outlet, did that here.”
Flashback: CBS News releases 'full transcript' of 2021 Vice President Harris interview that was not aired in its entirety on TV
CBS subsequently refused to release the unredacted records despite extensive requests, citing the First Amendment.
“The First Amendment strictly protects these editorial judgments.…As such, there is no private right of action here, and we note that you have not specified one. There is also no legal basis for your request to provide us with a copy of the unredacted document.We decline your request for an interview.''
“As President Trump stated, CBS maliciously and deceptively falsified Kamala Harris' pathetic 60 Minutes interview in which she lied,” Trump campaign spokesperson Stephen Chan told Fox News Digital. He committed the worst misconduct in the history of broadcasting. CBS has been told to preserve it.” These are their documents. ”
Former President Trump dramatically called the “60 Minutes” controversy perhaps “the biggest scandal in the history of broadcasting.” (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The controversy stemmed from an exchange between Harris and 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker. In a preview clip aired on “Face the Nation,” Harris was asked why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't seem to be listening to the United States.
“Bill, as a result of the work that we did, there was a lot of movement in the region by Israel, and that movement was very much driven by a lot of things, including our advocacy for what should happen in the region. was prompted by or a result of that,” Harris responded in the “Face the Nation” clip.
CBS News' statement on controversial “60 Minutes'' edits falls flat on social media: “Publish.'' The. Transcription.
Harris was ridiculed by conservatives. Serve a long “word salad” To Mr. Whittaker. But when the same question aired on a prime-time election special the next day, shorter, more focused answers From the vice president.
“We're not going to stop pursuing what it takes to define where the United States stands on the need to end this war,” Harris said on the prime-time special.
CBS News raised eyebrows when it published two versions of correspondent Bill Whitaker's exchange with Vice President Kamala Harris. (Screenshot/CBS News)
Critics have accused CBS News of editing Harris' “word salad” answers to protect the vice president from further backlash, and after the station shared only the transcript of the broadcast, the full transcript There are growing calls for the release of the information.
However, CBS News released the full transcript of the 2021 interview with Harris, which included the exchange that did not air.
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In a message posted to X, President Trump dramatically called it perhaps “the biggest scandal in the history of broadcasting.”
on sunday, CBS News releases statement Trump's claims that “deceptive edits” were used were “false,” he said, and producers explained that they had used “more concise” parts of Harris' answers.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
