’60 Minutes’ under fire over Kamala Harris editing decision has a history of liberal controversy

“60 Minutes” is in hot water again.

The long-running news show has been plagued by controversy in recent days after it edited out an unflattering exchange Vice President Kamala Harris had with veteran correspondent Bill Whitaker, which aired in a preview clip on the ” Face The Nation” on Sunday, but that was changed for Monday’s election special. .

Conservatives mocked Harris for offering a lengthy “word salad” when asked why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared not to be listening to the US.

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

CBS ’60 MINUTES’ ISSUES TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM VP HARRIS TO THE SAME QUESTION

“60 Minutes” edited out an exchange between correspondent Bill Whitaker and Vice President Kamala Harris for its prime-time election special after airing unflattering comments the Democratic nominee made in a preview clip. (Screenshots/CBS News)

However, a shorter and more focused response from the vice president to the same question was shown on Monday night.

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

It appears that the two different responses were part of the same long response, but CBS has not offered responses for the discrepancy.

CBS News is facing mounting pressure to release the transcript of the full interview with Harris to explain the discrepancy. Meanwhile, former President Trump has called for the network to lose its broadcast license and former CBS employees are calling for an outside investigation into the controversy.

It’s yet another controversy and accusation of liberal bias that the venerable show has faced in recent years.

Lesley Stahl dismissed Hunter Biden laptop scandal in 2020

In the final days before the 2020 election, then-President Trump sparred with “60 Minutes” veteran Lesley Stahl about the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, which The New York Post had just uncovered.

Trump insisted at the time that then-candidate Joe Biden was “in the middle of a scandal.”

“It isn’t,” Stahl replied cheerfully.

“Of course it is, Lesley,” Trump said sternly.

“No, come on,” he continued to dismiss the president’s claim, before lecturing him: “This is ’60 Minutes,’ and we can’t put things that we can’t verify.”

CBS News eventually went ahead and verified the infamous laptop in 2022.

The laptop and its contents were then accused of being part of a Russian disinformation campaign by large sections of the media, and the New York Post story was even prevented from being shared on Twitter.

CBS took the plunge to admit existence of Hunter Biden’s laptop two years after New York Post report

Veteran CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl famously said Hunter Biden’s laptop could not be verified during her “60 Minutes” interview with then-President Trump. (Screenshot/CBS News)

Scott Pelley slammed Trump administration’s ‘disproved’ Wuhan lab leak theory

In May 2020, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley questioned the Trump administration’s claims that the COVID pandemic originated from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China.

Pelley then told viewers that “both the White House and the Chinese Communist Party have been less than honest” and instead touted the credibility of Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance group and one of the most outspoken enemies of the laboratory filtration. theory EcoHealth Alliance received government funding from the National Institutes of Health and has had a long-standing collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which has been increasingly seen as the possible origin of the disastrous pandemic.

Pelley lamented how the Trump administration abruptly ended funding for EcoHealth because of a “political disinformation campaign targeting China’s Wuhan Institute.”

“As the United States led the world in disease and death, the White House shifted its focus to the Chinese government,” Pelley told viewers as he took a swipe at the Trump administration. “Last Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried to resurrect a debunked theory that the virus was man-made in China… The administration has offered no evidence of an accident or genetic engineering.”

CRISIS OF CREDIBILITY: ’60 MINUTES’ TRYING TO START THE CLOCK AFTER DECLARING THEORY OF COVID-19 LAB LEAKS ‘DECEMBER’

“60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley was quick to say that the COVID lab leak theory was “debunked” in May 2020. (Screenshot/CBS News)

The “60 Minutes” correspondent pushed the idea that the virus came from a wet market and turned to another expert who suggested the virus came naturally from a pangolin.

“There is no evidence that this virus came out of a lab in China,” Daszak insisted.

“Does the Wuhan Institute of Virology, to your knowledge, have this virus in their inventory?” Pelley asked.

“No,” Daszak replied.

“Why do you say that?” Pelley followed.

“The closest known relative is one that’s different enough to not be SARS-CoV 2, so there’s no evidence that anyone had it in the lab anywhere in the world before the outbreak,” Daszak replied.

CBS News said its report was based on the facts known at the time. But fast-forward to March 2021, when Pelley’s colleague Lesley Stahl declared a possible lab leak a “leading theory” about the origin of the pandemic.

Notably, Pelley was tapped to interview Trump for the “60 Minutes” election special before the former president decided to skip the session entirely.

’60 Minutes’ planted a false ‘pay to play’ narrative against DeSantis

In April 2021, “60 Minutes” pushed the false narrative that Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was embroiled in a “pay-to-play” scheme involving COVID vaccines.

A preview clip released before the full report aired showed “60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi confronting the governor at a press conference about the allegations that he rewarded Publix, a Southern supermarket chain with more than 850 Florida locations, with COVID vaccines after the company made vaccines against COVID-19. a sizable donation to his PAC.

“Publix, as you know, gave $100,000 to your campaign,” Alfonsi began in the clip. “And then you rewarded them with the exclusive rights to distribute the vaccine in Palm Beach . . .”

“First of all, what you’re saying is wrong,” DeSantis interrupted.

“How’s that for not paying to play?” Alfonsi then asked.

“That’s a false narrative,” DeSantis responded. “I met with the county mayor, I met with the administrator, I met with all the people of Palm Beach County and I said, ‘Here are some of the options: We can do more car spots , we can give more to hospitals. , we can do the Publix.’ And they said, “We think this would be the easiest thing for our residents.”

CBS’ ’60 MINUTES’ ACCUSED OF EDITING THE EXCHANGE BETWEEN DESANTIS, THE REPORTER THAT DRIVES THE ‘PAY TO PLAY’ NARRATIVE

Alfonsi then recounted that Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay claimed DeSantis “never met with her about the Publix deal.”

“The criticism here is that it’s pay to play, Governor,” Alfonsi told DeSantis.

“And it’s wrong, it’s wrong,” the governor replied. “It’s a false narrative. I just disabused you of the narrative. And you don’t care about the facts. Because obviously I laid it out for you in an irrefutable way.”

“60 Minutes” correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi clashed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over a “pay to play” accusation that the CBS News show pushed in 2021. (Screenshots/CBS News)

However, the CBS program dramatically edited the exchange by cutting several minutes of the governor’s comments to Alfonsi explaining that CVS and Walgreens had the vaccine first during its rollout in senior living communities and long-term care facilities. deadline, while Publix was the first chain to volunteer to roll out the vaccine in its stores. DeSantis also told Alfonsi that CVS and Walgreens would also receive the vaccine when their mission to vaccinate Florida’s seniors was complete.

Despite the backlash the “60 Minutes” preview clip sparked on social media, the exchange remained edited during that Sunday’s broadcast, a clear departure from the editing that took place between the clip preview of the Harris interview and the one that aired in prime time.

Democratic state officials, conservative pundits, Publix and DeSantis himself rejected the story pushed by “60 Minutes.”

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A CBS spokesperson initially told Fox News Digital about the edited exchange: “As we always do for clarity, 60 MINUTES used the portion of the governor’s 2-plus minute response that directly addressed the correspondent’s question.” CBS News repeatedly defended its reporting without ever addressing criticism of its “pay-to-play” push.

CBS did not respond to a request for comment.