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Former CBS employees call for outside investigation of ’60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris amid editing scandal

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Former CBS employees call for outside investigation of ’60 Minutes’ interview with Kamala Harris amid editing scandal

Former CBS News employees are calling for an independent investigation into “60 Minutes” over the Kamala Harris interview scandal, even as the network stands firm and refuses to release the full, unedited transcript, according to reports. told The Post.

The long-running news show has come under fire after allegedly scrubbing the Democratic presidential nominee’s answer to a question from “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker about Israel that aired during a special episode Monday.

His response was starkly different from the “word salad” the vice president offered in a clip promoting the interview shown on “Face the Nation” the day before.

The controversy has prompted the media and critics, including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, to question the ethical standards of the Tiffany chain. “I think there should be an outside investigation,” a former CBS News reporter told The Post on Thursday. “Obviously, there’s a problem here. If they care about journalistic integrity, they would conduct an investigation or release the full transcript.”

Former CBS reporters are calling for an independent investigation into Kamala Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview after the network aired two different versions of the vice president’s response to the same question. 60 Minutes / CBS

A second CBS source said the discrepancy in responses makes it appear the network’s flagship show is “biased.”

“His credibility has been questioned and his impartiality has been questioned,” the source said. “Don’t you need a full review of what went wrong?”

On Thursday, CBS again declined multiple requests from The Post to release the full transcript.

The network did not comment on whether it planned to launch an investigation into the matter.

However, CBS has a history of releasing full transcripts of its newscasts and probes.

In 2013, the network investigated a “60 Minutes” segment by correspondent Lara Logan about a terrorist attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi that left Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.

The inquiry, led by then-executive director of standards and practices Al Ortiz, discredited the report, finding it “deficient in a number of respects”. Logan and his producer were asked to take a leave of absence.

Two sources suggested CBS tapped Ortiz, who retired in 2012 after 43 years at the network, to conduct an outside review of the Harris interview.

Ortiz did not respond to requests for comment.

CBS has also released full transcripts in the past. It posted Catherine Herridge’s 2020 interview with Trump, as well as Jan Crawford’s 2019 interview with then-Attorney General Bill Barr.

Earlier this year, “60 Minutes” provided Bloomberg News with a full transcript of its interview with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Releasing a full transcript would provide clarity on where Harris’ response came from, but it may also raise more questions about “60 Minutes'” impartiality.

Other networks are also releasing full transcripts of high-profile interviews that have not been edited, such as ABC News’ interview with President Biden in July and CNN’s meeting with Harris and running mate Tim Waltz in in August

At issue for CBS are two clips that have circulated side by side on social media that show a discrepancy in Harris’ answers to the same question.

In the “Face the Nation” clip, a wide shot reveals Whitaker asking Harris about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“But Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn’t seem to be listening,” he says.

Harris responds, “Well, Bill, the work that we’ve done has led to a number of moves in this region by Israel that were very much motivated or the result of many things, including our advocacy of what needs to happen in the region.”

Two clips have circulated on social media with a side-by-side comparison showing a discrepancy in Harris’ answers to the same question from Bill Whitaker. 60 Minutes / CBS

On “60 Minutes,” the camera zooms in on Whitaker, who asks the same question.

Harris’s response was different.

“We will not stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”

A network insider said it’s the same photo of Whitaker just a narrower focus on the correspondent’s face.

The insider did not know why “60 Minutes” aired a tight shot of Whitaker.

“Why is the answer to the same question so different?” asked the former CBS News employee. “That needs to be answered. Was that answer a continuation of a longer answer or was it an answer that came much later in the interview?

Former CBS reporters said there may have been a miscommunication between the show and the promo-editing department, as “60 Minutes” was still editing the show when the promo aired.

At best, Harris’ response to “60 Minutes” may have come shortly after his response to the “Face the Nation” clip.

They said that if their response was part of an extended response to the same question, no journalistic malpractice was committed.

Critics accused “60 Minutes” of editing Harris’ interview to make his response seem better and more presidential. 60 Minutes / CBS

But if the answer came from another question about Israel and was made to look like an answer to Whitaker’s question, then it is ethically problematic.

“’60 Minutes’ lives up to the highest journalistic standards,” the former CBS employee said. “Releasing the transcript would answer everyone’s questions and allow them to maintain the integrity of the story they aired.”

“The stakes are too high. It’s a presidential election. Trump is asking for the transcript and reporters are asking for answers,” the source concluded.

The discrepancy in the clips has led the Internet to theorize that “60 Minutes” took an answer from another part of the interview and altered it to look like an answer to Whitaker’s question in order to make the Harrises look better. .

It’s also unclear whether Harris was allowed to answer the same question on another take.

Republican presidential candidate Trump accused CBS of “election interference,” claiming the network replaced Harris’ lengthy response with another response to “make her look better.” Getty Images

Sources close to the network have said the interview was edited for time constraints and clarity, but that still doesn’t answer the bigger question of where Harris’ answer came from and why it was edited that way .

The source added that “Face The Nation” had a longer version of the exchange on “60 Minutes” and that it was a “regular edit.”

“It’s standard practice for each TV broadcast to be time-edited,” offered a TV insider. “There is no deception.”

The Harris campaign distanced itself from the CBS editing error Wednesday evening amid speculation from sources that it may have been pressure from the vice president’s team to deliver a more forceful and forceful response.

“We do not control CBS’s production decisions and we ask CBS questions,” a Harris campaign aide told Variety.

CBS has declined to release a full transcript of the Harris interview, even though there is precedent. AFP via Getty Images

In recent days, Trump accused CBS of “election interference,” posting on Truth Social Tuesday: “Giant fake news scam by CBS and 60 minutes. Their REAL ANSWER WAS CRAZY OR STUPID, so they replaced it for another answer in order to save it or at least make it look better.”

He continued: “A fake news scam, which is totally illegal. REMOVE CBS LICENSE. Electoral interference”.

On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel pushed back against Trump’s attacks on the station. He called his demand to revoke CBS’s license “threats against free speech” that “should not be ignored.”

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