FCC To Fast Track CBS Probe

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is set to accelerate the investigation into the alleged biased editing by "60 Minutes" following CBS News' submission of the full transcript of its contentious interview with Kamala Harris.

Carr committed to initiating a probe after a complaint from the Center for American Rights, a conservative activist group, claimed that the show had edited the October interview with the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee in her favor.

In an exclusive interview with The Post on Monday, Carr stated, "The FCC has had a prohibition against news distortion on our books for 50 years. It applies to broadcasters but not cable. A group brought a non-frivolous complaint, so the FCC is taking the next appropriate step in adjudicating the issue."

Carr, appointed by Trump to head the agency, has not dismissed the possibility of taking testimony from "60 Minutes" producers and correspondent Bill Whitaker, who interviewed Harris, according to sources familiar with the matter.

After initial resistance and prompted by a lawsuit from Trump demanding $10 billion for what he claims was deceptive editing, CBS News agreed to release the transcript over the weekend. Carr anticipates receiving this document by the end of business on Monday.

In its statement, CBS explained that Carr had notified the network last week about the inquiry, requesting the "full, unedited transcript and camera feeds from our interview with Vice President Harris, which aired on Oct. 7, 2024. We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do."

WATCH: CBS will turn over its Kamala Harris '60 Minutes' interview transcript today to comply with the FCC’s probe into “potential news distortion,” confirms FCC Chairman @BrendanCarrFCC to Fox News’ @DanaPerino pic.twitter.com/moYYf8Dxso

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) February 3, 2025

The request for the transcript is directly related to the complaint by the Center for American Rights, but the investigation could have wider implications for Paramount Global, particularly as the FCC is currently reviewing its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. There are suggestions that Carr might be examining whether CBS News displayed political bias against Trump and Republicans during the 2024 election cycle.

FCC regulations do not allow for overt political bias and require equal time provisions for news broadcast on public airwaves, unlike cable. Should Carr determine that the editing was misleading, he could side with the Center for American Rights and potentially impact the Paramount-Skydance merger, which is expected to close by March. Possible outcomes might include requiring concessions to guarantee future impartiality as part of the merger approval.

Trump might leverage any findings from this investigation to bolster his legal action against CBS. Meanwhile, CBS News and Trump have reportedly begun "very preliminary settlement talks" regarding the lawsuit, filed in October in federal court in North Texas.