CBS on Wednesday took the unusual step of releasing internal video footage and transcripts of a “60 Minutes” interview conducted with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October.
The Washington Post reports the behind-the-scenes materials are of interest in a FCC review of a complaint filed in the fall by the Center for American Rights, a conservative legal organization, which had accused the network of news distortion by airing two different portions of a response Harris gave to a question about U.S. policy toward Israel. The segment is also at the center of a lawsuit filed against CBS by President Donald Trump.
The FCC wrote to CBS requesting the internal materials on Jan. 29, and the network provided them late Monday. CBS, which had originally declined to release the transcript, said in a statement last week that it was “legally compelled” to provide the material.
The complaint, which was lodged in mid-October, was dismissed by then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel in the waning days of the Biden administration but was reopened by Brendan Carr, Trump’s pick to lead the FCC.
The transcripts and video feeds were also published by the FCC on Wednesday. Carr said in a post on X that “the value of transparency & the public interest” made it necessary to release the materials to the public. The FCC will also be seeking public comment on the matter, with a March 7 deadline.
CBS provided the FCC with unredacted video & a transcript of VP Harris’s ‘60 Minutes’ interview in response to the FCC’s review of a News Distortion complaint.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) February 5, 2025
CBS did not ask for confidential or non-public treatment of these materials.
Given the value of transparency & the…
It’s very unusual for a news organization to publish internal camera feeds from an interview. At the beginning of the nearly 54-minute interview, which the FCC published on YouTube, Harris is shown wiping her nose. “You know that mold is at an all-time high today, which is the one thing I am allergic to,” she says. Viewers can also see an individual tussling Harris’s hair. “Just do what you need to do,” Harris says to the person.
I watched the full, unedited video of the Kamala Harris interview + reviewed the full transcript as well as the segment that aired on CBS News.
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) February 6, 2025
I would encourage everyone who cares about fact driven journalism to do the same.@60Minutes did then-VP Harris a favor in the edit… pic.twitter.com/dna0iRno0W
After releasing the transcripts, Carr said the FCC will hold hearings over a complaint by the Center for American Rights, a right-leaning activist group, over CBS News’ alleged deceptive editing.
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