After being compelled by the Federal Communications Commission to turn over the unedited transcript and video of their infamous interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris for 60 Minutes, the FCC released it to the public.
After reviewing the video (clip from the raw video below), NewsBusters can confirm that what appeared on 60 Minutes was highly edited. Not only did they edit what appeared on 60 Minutes, they also edited what appeared on Face the Nation, including cutting out a hard hitting question that called out the Biden-Harris administration for looking weak on the world stage.
Below is the transcript of the exchange in question between CBS’s Bill Whitaker and Harris. Note that in Harris’s answer for 60 Minutes, they pulled out a fragment of one sentence of a much, much larger answer which appeared on Face the Nation (FTN):
[BOTH 60 MINUTES AND FTN] BILL WHITAKER: We supply Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, and yet, Prime Minister Netanyahu seems to be charting his own course. The Biden administration The Biden Harris administration has pressed him to agree to a ceasefire. He's resisted. You urged him not to go into Lebanon. He went in anyway. He has promised to make Iran pay for the missile attack, and that has the potential of expanding the war. Does the US have no sway over Prime Minister Netanyahu?
[ONLY ON FTN] KAMALA HARRIS: Well, let's start with this— um — on this subject. The aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles. That were just meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel. And I think that is the most recent example of why what we do to assist in their defense around military aid is important. And when we think about the threat that Hamas, Hezbollah presents, Iran — um — I think that it is without any question our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those kinds of attacks. Now
[60 MINUTES ANSWER STARTS HERE] HARRIS: the work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles
[ONLY ON FTN] HARRIS: which include the need for humanitarian aid, the need for this war to end, the need for a deal to be done, which would release the hostages and — and — and create a ceasefire and we're not gonna stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and and in the region including with other leaders in the region, including Arab leaders.
It's also worth noting that Harris’s first sentence in her answer didn’t make it into either airing of the interview.
Whitaker’s second question was where things got even more interesting. CBS used only one sentence from a much longer question that used reporting from The Wall Street Journal to call out the Biden-Harris administration for looking weak on the world stage:
[BOTH 60 MINUTES AND FTN] WHITAKER: But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.
[THIS PART NOT ON 60 MINUTES NOR FTN] WHITTAKER: Um, The Wall Street Journal said that your administration has repeatedly been blindsided by Netanyahu, and, in fact, he has rebuffed just about all of your administration's entreaties.
[ONLY ON FTN] HARRIS: Well Bill, 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 gonna stop doing that
[60 MINUTES ANSWER STARTS HERE] we're not gonna stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.
(…)
Note that what aired on 60 Minutes was only the latter part of Harris’s answer.
In a statement following Trump’s accusations of deceitful editing, which culminated with a $10 billion lawsuit against the news outlet, CBS insisted the accusation was “false.”
“Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response,” they argued. Adding: “When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.”
But what CBS did was pluck out a fragment of a sentence that was in the middle of a word salad being spoken by candidate a with a problem connecting with voters. Again, they also edited out their reporter asking a question with critical analysis against said candidate. They later followed up with a different 60 Minutes episode smearing said candidate’s opponent.
CBS was caught red handed with highly edited video designed to hide Harris’s bumbling answers in pursuit of a favorable election result. Now we know why CBS staunchly refused to release the unedited video to the public.
