FCC releases raw CBS transcript from Kamala Harris' '60 Minutes' interview

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the unedited transcript and footage of CBS News' controversial interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, revealing discrepancies in the edited version that aired on the popular program 60 Minutes. The raw transcript highlights differences in Harris' response to questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's relationship with the Biden administration.

The interview, which aired in October 2024, showed CBS News airing only a portion of Harris' response during a preview clip on Face the Nation and a different portion in the primetime special.

In the interview, 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker asked if Netanyahu is “listening” to the U.S. In the preview clip, Harris’ response emphasized the work the U.S. had done in the region but omitted the more critical portion of her answer, which aired the next evening in the primetime special.

In the raw transcript, Harris' full answer reads: "The work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. And we're not going to stop doing that. We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end." The full response, which wasn't aired in the preview, presents a more comprehensive picture of the vice president's viewpoint on U.S.-Israeli relations.

CBS News defended its editorial decision in response to the release of the raw footage. A spokesperson said that the network had aired a "longer portion" of Harris' answer on Face the Nation, while the primetime special used a "shorter excerpt." CBS emphasized that the editorial choices were made with truthfulness in mind and to present the public with the most informative content within the constraints of television.

The network clarified that the edits were not intended to distort the interview’s meaning but were made to condense the content for broadcast.

However, the decision to edit the interview has drawn criticism, particularly from conservative circles, who accused CBS of editing out a potentially awkward or unfocused portion of Harris' response to protect her from further backlash. The controversy intensified after President Donald Trump's FCC chair, Brendan Carr, ordered CBS to release the unedited transcript as part of an investigation into whether the network violated its "news distortion" policy. This policy prohibits the alteration of answers in a way that misleads or distorts the content of an interview.

President Trump also weighed in on the issue, filing a lawsuit against CBS News in October. His legal team argued that the network’s editing decisions were part of a broader strategy to manipulate public opinion ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The lawsuit claims CBS’ editing was meant to “shield” Harris from criticism and accuses the network of election interference by distorting news coverage to favor the Democratic Party.

CBS' parent company, Paramount Global, is reportedly considering a settlement in the lawsuit as it prepares for a merger with Skydance Media. Legal experts suggest that Paramount may seek to avoid further regulatory scrutiny due to Trump's influence on the FCC and the potential impact on the merger.