The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday released the unedited version of former Vice President Kamala Harris’s pre-election interview with 60 Minutes in response to public concern that the program had been deceptively edited in Harris’s favor.
President Donald Trump’s FCC ordered CBS News to hand over the raw transcript of the interview with Harris in response to a complaint from the Center for American Rights that alleged the network violated the agency’s “news distortion” policy. Following the FCC inquiry, the entire unedited transcript and video were released to the public. 60 Minutes had previously declined to release the materials.
“We are posting the same transcripts and videos of our interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that we provided to the FCC,” the 60 Minutes team posted on its website. “They show – consistent with 60 Minutes’ repeated assurances to the public – that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.”
At issue in the interview is a moment in which Harris answers a question from 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker, who said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not listening to the Biden administration.
“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,” Harris responded in the October 2024 interview.
This part aired in a preview clip on Face the Nation the day before the primetime special. When the interview aired, her response was cut in half.
“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,” Harris said in the primetime special.
The deceptive edit came in response to blowback from conservatives, who mocked Harris for offering a “word salad” to her interviewer. The more concise answer followed.
In a similar instance, Harris responded at length when asked if she, as president, would let Ukraine join NATO.
“Those are all issues that we will deal with if and when it arrives at that point. Right now, we are supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked aggression,” she said in the aired interview before her response was cut off.
“And doing what we can to continue to build and strengthen the alliance around the support for Ukraine’s right to be an independent nation, free from having its borders forcefully taken by Russia,” the raw transcript reads. “And we are going to continue to work closely with our NATO allies to continue to reinforce America’s alliance in the context of NATO.”
The unedited interview’s release comes after Trump sued CBS for engaging in “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion,” arguing the edit made Harris look more favorable. The $10 billion lawsuit was filed five days before the election.
Meanwhile, 60 Minutes still maintains it did nothing wrong.
“In reporting the news, journalists regularly edit interviews – for time, space or clarity,” the news program explained. “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 suit could be settled by CBS parent company Paramount Global, which is seeking a merger with Skydance Media. The media and entertainment conglomerate has reportedly held discussions with Trump’s legal team about a possible settlement in fear of Trump’s FCC impeding the merger.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr confirmed the agency received the unredacted transcript and video from CBS. He said it was in the public interest to release them.