It was the journalism fail heard around the world. CBS News’ long-running show “60 Minutes” interviewed Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris in early October—but presented two different versions of her answering a question about Israel. Clearly, one of those answers had to be deceptively edited.
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Outrage ensued, yet CBS to this day has refused to release the transcript or the unedited footage.
Now Donald Trump is taking action—and suing the network for a staggering 10 billion dollars in damages, “stating the network practiced ‘deceptive conduct’ for the purpose of election interference in its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.”
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, states that the network engaged in election and voter interference:
Trump attorneys said the complaint comes due to “CBS’ partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to confuse, deceive, and mislead the public.”
Trump attorneys also argued the edits were done in an effort to “attempt to tip the scales in favor of the Democratic Party as the heated 2024 Presidential Election — which President Trump is leading — approaches its conclusion.”
The GOP nominee has expressed his disgust with CBS’ slippery tactics many times on the campaign trail, and has even argued they should lose their broadcast license:
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Background: Calls for CBS to Release the Kamala Interview Transcript Grow Deafening As Their Reputation Burns
’60 Minutes’ Finally Makes a Statement on the Harris Interview Scandal, Gets Roasted in Response
Democracy Dies in Darkness: CBS Doubles Down on Kamala Transcript, Tells Trump to Take a Hike
The former president says the fiasco has caused him significant harm:
“President Trump brings this action to redress the immense harm caused to him, to his campaign, and to tens of millions of citizens in Texas and across America by CBS’s deceptive broadcasting conduct,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit comes after Trump’s attorneys wrote letters to CBS News demanding the network release the full transcript of the “60 Minutes” interview with Harris after it aired two different answers to the same question. Trump attorneys asked CBS to preserve all documents and communications related to the interview pending a potential legal battle.
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In a letter to CBS News, Trump’s counsel said the network “intentionally misled the public by broadcasting a skillfully edited interview transcript… aimed at causing confusion among the electorate regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’s abilities, intelligence, and appeal.”
Accountability is coming!
RELEASE THE FULL, UNEDITED INTERVIEW!
Regardless of how this lawsuit turns out, CBS has lost significant credibility, to the point where it’s unclear whether they can ever get it back or be trusted by the public again. They’ve also delivered another blow to the American people’s trust in the media as a whole. Most Americans think the media is lying to them most of the time, and this bizarre episode just confirms their fears.