Kamala Harris' '60 Minutes' interview transcript, raw footage published amid FCC probe
CBS News and the Federal Communications Commission published the unedited transcripts and videos of an October "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris at the center of a lawsuit and an FCC probe.
In October, as the presidential election was in its final weeks, President Donald Trump accused CBS of “A FAKE NEWS SCAM” and called for revoking the network’s license over how it edited Harris’ interview.
The FCC chairwoman at the time, Jessica Rosenworcel, called it a threat against free speech and rejected the complaint. Reuters reported that Trump-appointed FCC chair Brendan Carr reinstated the complaint against CBS. Trump also sued CBS for $10 billion over the interview, which he called “misleading,” and asked the commission to assist in making the transcript public, according to Reuters.
In releasing the video, CBS stood by its edits, and the FCC announced it would take public comments on the complaint.
Watch the full CBS interview with Kamala Harris
The FCC also released the video from a different camera angle:
Read the transcripts of VP's '60 Minutes' interview
Was the '60 Minutes' interview with Kamala Harris edited?
Yes. It is standard practice among news outlets to edit to fit time or space constraints, experts previously told Paste BN.
During a teaser clip for the interview on Oct. 6 on “Face the Nation” when Bill Whitaker asks Harris about the U.S.-Israeli relationship, viewers see a different video response from the vice president than on the subsequent “60 Minutes” broadcast on Oct. 7.
The complaint filed by the Center for American Rights alleged news distortion, but it was previously dismissed as it lacked "evidence... indicating an 'intentional' or 'deliberate' falsification of the news,” according to a Jan. 16 letter by the FCC acting enforcement bureau chief Peter S. Hyun.
In publishing the transcripts and videos, Carr announced Wednesday that the FCC would also be seeking public comment on the complaint. Those hoping to weigh in have until March 7 to do so and can find instructions on submitting comments in the FCC's recent public notice.
FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez has criticized the move, calling it a "fishing expedition."
“Having now seen these materials, I see no reason to continue pursuing this investigation," she said. "It is unprecedented and reckless for the FCC to disclose the status of an active investigation and publicly share materials before its conclusion and before they’ve been shared with other members of this independent body."
CBS stood by their edits in a statement released with the video :
"In making these edits, 60 Minutes is always guided by the truth and what we believe will be most informative to the viewing public – all while working within the constraints of broadcast television," the statement reads. "As the full transcript shows, we edited the interview to ensure that as much of the vice president's answers to 60 Minutes' many questions were included in our original broadcast while fairly representing those answers. "
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at Paste BN. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com, and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.