Fair Election Fund urges FCC to hold CBS accountable for 'unlawful conduct' related to '60 Minutes' interview
FIRST ON FOX -- The Fair Election Fund, a national election integrity watchdog group, urged the Federal Communications Commission to "hold CBS accountable for its unlawful conduct" related to the infamous "60 Minutes" interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump has alleged election interference over CBS' handling of a "60 Minutes" interview, and feels the network aided his Democratic rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, through deceptive editing one month before they faced off in the presidential election. The October 2024 sit-down with Harris has been at the center of controversy for months, with Trump taking legal action and FCC chairman Brendan Carr forcing CBS to release an unedited transcript and raw footage.
CBS and its parent company, Paramount Global, insist the network did nothing wrong, but the Fair Election Fund believes the editing job constituted "an improper contribution" to the Harris campaign.
"Upon review of the video and transcript referenced in the Public Notice, we find it prudent to inform the Commission that CBS has not only engaged in improper news distortion, but has also exploited the 'media exemption' under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974, as amended (FECA)," James Tyrell, counsel to the Fair Election Fund, wrote in the letter to the FCC that has been obtained by Fox News Digital.
"We respectfully request that the Commission hold CBS accountable for its unlawful conduct," Tyrell continued. "By substantively editing Ms. Harris' answers to questions in the CBS Interview, CBS has engaged in activities that exceed the scope of the 'legitimate press function' and, therefore, constitute an improper contribution to Ms. Harris' campaign."
Tyrell wrote that "the heavily edited CBS Interview went well beyond CBS' legitimate press function" and urged the FCC to act.
"The results of the 2024 Presidential Election clearly demonstrate that the American public has lost confidence in the media, and, no matter what this Commission decides with respect to this matter, that lost confidence will not immediately be restored. The question is whether this Commission will further undermine the American public's confidence in the U.S. government by giving a biased media company a 'free pass," Tyrell wrote.
Tyrell also believes that "news distortion" is not an isolated incident.
"For example, journalists and the media were publicly criticized by Americans for 'covering up' former President Joe Biden's mental decline and for failing to even conduct any sort of questioning of the White House regarding the same," Tyrell wrote.
"This repeated pattern 33 of behavior is precisely why the American public no longer trusts the media," Tyrell added. "It is unfortunate that media personnel continue to push their own political agendas at the expense of providing the American public with complete information and exploit FCC and Federal Election Commission rules and regulations for their own benefit. Such manipulative behavior should not be countenanced by this Commission."
Carr, who was appointed by Trump and has called CBS' conduct "hard to explain," previously asked for the public's feedback as it conducts a review of the "60 Minutes" saga. Last month, Carr ordered CBS News to hand over the unedited transcript as part of its investigation into whether the network violated the FCC's "news distortion" policy after a complaint was filed. CBS had refused to release a transcript until Carr got involved.
"Every data point you look at shows that the American people have lost trust in the legacy national news media. They feel like those outlets are just trying to sheepdog people towards preferred political narratives, rather than playing it straight. With respect to CBS, the FCC is running a transparent process that lets every American participant. I would welcome the Federal Election Commission's views on the FEC issues raised here," Carr told Fox News Digital.
The raw transcript showed CBS News had aired only the first half of Harris' response to "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker's question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not "listening" to the Biden administration in a preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation," but aired only the second half of her response during the primetime special.
"But it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening," Whitaker said in the exchange. "The Wall Street Journal said that he -- that your administration has repeatedly been blindsided by Netanyahu, and in fact, he has rebuffed just about all of your administration's entreaties."
"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 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," Harris responded.
In the preview clip that aired on "Face the Nation," Whitaker asked his Netanyahu question to Harris about him not "listening" to the U.S.
"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 "Face the Nation" clip.
Harris was mocked by conservatives for offering a lengthy "word salad" to Whitaker. But when that same question aired the following night in the primetime election special, a shorter, more focused answer from the vice president followed.
"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.
Critics accused CBS News of editing Harris' "word salad" answer to shield the vice president from further backlash.
CBS parent company Paramount Global on Friday responded to the news distortion complaint that is on file with the FCC.
"The Complaint filed against CBS for 'news distortion' envisions a less free world in which the federal government becomes a roving censor—one that second guesses and even punishes specific editorial decisions that are an essential part of producing news programming," Paramount Global executives wrote.
"The protections of the First Amendment apply to all Americans, including broadcasters like CBS and its stations. A broadcaster engages in protected speech activity whenever it 'exercises editorial discretion in the selection and presentation of its programming,'" they continued. "Indeed, the mere investigation of allegations premised on disputes over editorial judgments constitutes 'a venture into a quagmire inappropriate for' a government agency like the Commission—though it is not too late for the Commission to turn back by promptly closing this proceeding."
Paramount Global feels the First Amendment would not permit the government to substitute its judgment for that of a broadcaster as to the specific footage from an interview to be aired.
"None of the Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence around broadcasting has ever recognized a sweeping right by the government to second guess editorial decision-making," Paramount Global wrote.
The FCC has not yet formally responded to Paramount Global.
Trump filed a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS alleging election interference over its handling of the interview, accusing the network of aiding his Democratic rival through deceptive editing just days before the election.
According to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital, Paramount argued last week that the lawsuit was wrongly filed by Trump's legal team in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas, despite the fact that neither Paramount nor CBS News are located in the Lone Star State, nor did any production of the "60 Minutes" interview at the center of the lawsuit have any affiliation with the state.
In a separate filing, Paramount argued Trump's lawsuit is "an affront to the First Amendment and is without basis in law or fact," seeking to "punish a news organization for constitutionally protected editorial judgments they do not like."
Trump's legal team remains confident.
"President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, hoaxes, and lies to account," Trump attorney Ed Paltzik told Fox News Digital in a statement.
"CBS and Paramount committed the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history," Paltzik added. "President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion."
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