The FCC is asking the public to weigh in about the “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris last fall. And it provided links to the video and transcript.
Chairman Brendan Carr tweeted on Wednesday that CBS had provided the FCC with the unredacted video and text in response to the FCC’s review of a news distortion complaint.
“CBS did not ask for confidential or non-public treatment of these materials. Given the value of transparency and the public interest here, the FCC is taking two actions. The FCC is making these materials publicly available. [And] The FCC has concluded that establishing a docket and seeking comment on the issues raised in the complaint would serve the public interest. The people will have a chance to weigh in,” Carr tweeted.
The commission has posted these links to the video and transcript, and established a docket to seek comment.
“We have concluded that establishing this docket would, in this case, permit broader public participation and thereby serve the public interest,” it wrote. (Its announcement is here. Comments should be filed in MB Docket No. 25-73 and are due March 7.)
The complaint on which the FCC is acting was filed in October by the Center for American Rights, a conservative legal firm. It was dismissed by the Enforcement Bureau last month before President Trump was inaugurated. Chairman Carr then reopened the case.
Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, told The New York Post in January, “These are serious issues that deserve real resolution. The prior chair’s last-minute actions were political, not based on a principled defense of the First Amendment.”
Donald Trump has sued CBS over the broadcast, claiming that “60 Minutes” deceptively edited the interview to interfere with the presidential election, according to the New York Times. The Times reported that executives at CBS parent Paramount have been pursuing a settlement in the lawsuit, “in hopes that it would improve the chances that the company could swiftly close its merger with Skydance.”
CBS posted a statement about the materials: “They show … that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful. In reporting the news, journalists regularly edit interviews – for time, space or 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.” (Read that here.)
Objecting
Commissioner Anna Gomez on Wednesday said the FCC has acted recklessly by disclosing the status of an active investigation. The commissioner, a Democrat, also called the effort a fishing expedition and said the FCC should drop it now.
“The transcript and footage of this interview provide no evidence that CBS and its affiliated broadcast stations violated FCC rules,” she said is a statement. “Having now seen these materials, I see no reason to continue pursuing this investigation. The FCC should now move to dismiss this fishing expedition to avoid further politicizing our enforcement actions.”
She also said, “It is unprecedented and reckless for the FCC to disclose the status of an active investigation and publicly share materials before its conclusion and before they’ve been shared with other members of this independent body.”
Gomez said the Enforcement Bureau generally treats sensitive matters with confidentiality and discretion because they can have market impacts. “This action sets a dangerous precedent that threatens to undermine trust in the FCC’s role as an impartial regulator. The FCC should stop trying to keep up with this administration’s focus on partisan culture wars and return to its core focus of protecting consumers, promoting competition and securing our communications networks.”
Gomez said that a news distortion claim “must involve a significant event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of the news report” and that broadcasters are only subject to enforcement if it can be proven that they have deliberately distorted a factual news report. “Expressions of opinion or errors stemming from mistakes are not actionable.” She said the FCC will only investigate claims that include evidence showing that the broadcast news report was deliberately intended to mislead. And she quoted the earlier ruling by the Enforcement Bureau, saying “The commission is indeed ‘not the national arbiter of the “truth” of news programming.’”
