‘60 Minutes’ publicly releases transcripts of interview at heart of its dispute with Trump

NEW YORK — CBS’ “60 Minutes” posted online Wednesday the unedited transcripts of its October interview with Kamala Harris that sparked a lawsuit by Donald Trump, saying that they proved its broadcast was not “doctored or deceitful.”

That’s what Trump contended in a $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the network in November, reportedly the subject of ongoing settlement talks.

In a separate track, the Federal Communications Commission last week called for CBS to send transcripts and clips of the interview, which CBS did before making them public on Wednesday. The interview with the Democratic presidential candidate, portions of which were aired on “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation,” attracted attention because clips showed her giving different answers to a question about Israel that was posed by correspondent Bill Whitaker.

In his lawsuit, filed before Trump won election to his second term, the Republican contended the editing was done to give advantage to Harris, his Democratic opponent.

Yet CBS said that the material it was releasing on Wednesday show “consistent with “60 Minutes’” repeated assurances to the public, that the “60 Minutes” broadcast was not doctored or deceitful,” CBS said in a statement.

The network said that journalists regularly edit interviews for time, space and clarity.

“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 network said.

Despite CBS News’ contention that it did nothing wrong in its editing, the news division’s parent company Paramount is reportedly engaged in settlement talks. Paramount executives are seeking the Trump administration’s approval of a sale to another entertainment firm, Skydance.