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In the course of a legal calculation between the President Donald Trump And Paramount Global could appear any day as both sides continue mediation in the hope of resolving their 20 billion dollar lawsuit against CBS News.
The lawsuit stems from the “60 minutes” of the special elections aired in early October, just a few weeks before the 2024 presidential election, which contained interviews with the then President of Vice. Kamala Harris And her racing friend, Minnesota Government Tim Walz. Trump-van map overthrew the program call.
“I wish Donald Trump agreed to participate in the program,” said one veteran producer “60 minutes”. Fox News Digital. “Since we have been doing fair, but difficult interviews with candidates for both sides every four years for 50 years.”
The “60 minutes” staff spoke with Fox News Digital about the editing of Kamal Harris interview at the center of the lawsuit of President Trump. (Screen shots/CBS News)
Trump had an icy connection with “60 minutes” before 2024, most of all from his sitting at the age of 2020 with the “60 minute” correspondent of Lesley Stahla, who famously rejected the Hunter Biden laptop scandal while appearing during a tense exchange with the then GOP.
In an interview with Harris, she was pressured by the correspondent “60 minutes” Bill Whitaker on why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not “listen” to the biden administration. The exchange was first aired in a review clip on “Face the Nation”.
“Well, Bill, the job we did resulted in numerous movements in that region by Israel that have largely encouraged or the result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region,” Harris replied. Her remarks were Immediately ridiculed as a “word salad” by conservative critics.
CBS News employees neglected by a sudden exit of the executive
However, in the Primheme Primeral, which aired next night, the same question was shown a shorter, focused response of vice -presidents.
“We will not stop following what it takes for the United States to be clear about where we are standing on the need to end this war,” Harris said in Primetime Special.
Bill Whitaker’s interview “60 minutes” with then President Kamal Harris is at the center of a high -ranking lawsuit. (Screen shots/CBS News)
The replacement of the answer immediately broke out on social networks, subsiding that CBS News was deceptively editing Harris comments to purify her viral “salad words” comments from the television viewers of Primetime. For days later, Trump filed a lawsuit stating an election interference.
“60 minutes” producers say Fox News Digital, “Everything was above the board.”
“Every ’60 minutes’ interview is edited,” said the veteran producer. “Face the nation” used part of the answer and we used a different part of the same answer. And the only reason for that was clarity and conciseness. “
“Any piece, unless live, does not broadcast a complete answer of every question,” said the second producer “60 minutes” for Fox News Digital. “A Standard in ’60 minutes’ is that you do not interfere and do not reconcile questions and answers, which has not been done, but what Trump states on social media, which is a lie. So, he lies about what happened, and I think people hear it and think they are telling the truth.”
Sanders, Warren warns Paramount to resolve Trump’s lawsuit could illegal Law on bribery
Trump has repeatedly claimed journalists in the comments and on social networks that CBS News have taken comments from a completely separate Harris response and inserted them into an exchange about Netanyahu.
The raw transcript and the footage that FCC posted earlier this year showed that both sets of Harris’ comments were made from the same answer, but CBS News broadcast only the first half of her answer in the “Face the Nation” review and broadcast the second half during the Primhethime Special.
“The fact is that the standard journalism procedures followed,” said another producer.
The “60 minutes” producers who spoke with Fox News Digital firmly rejected the idea that the editing was made to help Harris and her campaign, insisting that she was “completely immeasurable” and that there was no motivation except that he saved the time for a one -hour special.
“They are both honestly, not great,” said the second “60 minutes” producer of two Harris answers aired. “It’s not great in an interview. She wasn’t a great communicator … It’s such a sign that this is just a political maneuver. You know, only Trump makes a noise and trying to make people hate the media.”
President Donald Trump sues CBS News and her home company Paramount Global for $ 20 billion on election charges. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
What also emphasized “60 minutes” journalists were the time line between “Face the Nation” and Sunday and Primetime Special on Monday night. “Face the Nation” had access to the parts of Harris footage and chose what he wanted to broadcast that Sunday morning, while “60 minutes” was still editing Primetime Special for the next night.
“That is why we do not allow the 90-sex response to be triggered, because then you would use the tenth of your story of ‘UMS’ and ‘HMMS’ … As you ask the question in an interview and a person’s winding person, and then finally comes to an answer, and you are like” okay, that’s the answer “, but they processed it,” said another producer. “If Trump wants to say it was like a agenda up to ’60 minutes’ to make Kamal look better, I just don’t think it was, and looked at what happened. That’s another thing: she didn’t win.”
While “60 minutes” producers were convinced that what was aired by CBS News followed the standards and internships of the network, they could not say if there was any case like an interview with Harris in which two different parts of the same answer were broadcast, which caused so much confusion among viewers.
During the initial restlessness, there were main calls to publish the CBS News the Unreeded Transcript, which the network then refused. Earlier this year, FCC President Brendan Carr ordered CBS News News to hand over a transcript of an interview as part of an investigation into whether the network broke the FCC “Distursion of News” after the appeal was filed.
Paramount faced high pressure from CBS stars, DEM legislators as Mulls inhabiting Trump’s lawsuit
One producer suggested “60 minutes” take a page from the book Transparency Project PBS FrontlineInitiative that included the publication of full shots of interviews and transcripts online when their films were released.
“Maybe we’re in a place where we need to start doing it,” said the second “60 minutes” producer. “If I were a ’60 minute boss,” I would probably think about such a transparency project. Like, okay, look at the whole interview. ”
Even with the publication of raw transcript, as the “60 minutes” producers point out, Trump never withdrew the lawsuit and just doubled on the “lie”.
“What Donald Trump still has been doing for months and months and over and over since we have announced that transcript to furnish the charges that are false,” said the veteran producer. “He speaks lies. And it has been clearly proven that they are lies. And that doesn’t stop him from telling them.”
Bill Owens, an executive producer of “60 minutes” who resigned last month, was defying because Trump’s lawsuit was over CBS News.
“There were settlements and/or apologies in the media,” Owens Allegedly told his staff in February. “The company knows I won’t apologize for anything we have done.”
Executive producer “60 minutes” Bill Owens resigned after facing corporate pressure because of Trump’s lawsuit. (Piaras ó Mídheach/Sportsfile for collision via Getty Images)
Owens left CBS News about what he said was his inability to maintain an independent editorial office in “60 minutes”. She led to his exit the increasing involvement of Shari Redstone, Paramount’s control shareholder who favored the resolution of the lawsuit.
Redstone wanted to “keep the cards” in the upcoming “60 minutes” segments that included Trump and invited the CBS Executive to delay any sensitive report on Trump until the Skydance Connection Agreement was closed. Journalists CBS News, despite Paramount’s denial, have openly connected Her desire to resolve the lawsuit on the Company Agreement, which seeks the approval of the FCC.
“The conditions that they were trying to oppose [Owens] were unbearable … It was not something that any editor who respects to tolerated, “first” 60 minutes “producer said of his resignation.” This made us all feel terrible because it was so wrong and so dishonest. “
Despite the restlessness that has been swinging CBS News in recent months, including the ejection of the Wendy McMahon network executive director, “60 minutes” reporters say they have been handed over to their work, but have offered warning with corporate Honnchos like Redstone if they continue to prefer to relegate Trump’s lawsuit.
“If the pressure is still carried out to 60 minutes of a corporation journalist, then I could see people leaving,” said another producer. “As if we get into our next season, and I’m reporting a story that includes Trump’s administration and realize that my story is changing because of something Shari Redstone loves or does not like, I think it would be for me and I think other people on the staff would be a line.”
The “60 minutes” manufacturer warned of exodus of staff if Paramount Global Controlling shareholder Shari Redstone continues to be implemented. (Left: (Photo Paul Morigi/Getty Images), right: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The pressure continues to increase as Paramount Mulls settled Trump’s lawsuit, perhaps in the amount of $ 30-50 million.
CBS host late night Stephen Colbert called the home company For a huge payment, he is currently thinking, saying “handing over a bunch of cash to the president for a frivolous lawsuit to make your broadcast license to approve the sounds of such shady.”
Democratic legislators, including Sen. Bernie SandersI-Vt., And Senarica Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sent a ominous letter to Redstone suggesting that she encouraged himself to pay Trump’s lawsuit to use Skydance merging, could be interpreted as a bribe.
“According to the Federal Statute on bribery, it is illegally corrupt to give anything valuable public officials to influence the official act. If paramount officials make these concessions in the quid pro quo arrangement to influence the President of Trump or other administration officials, they can violate the law,” said Redston.
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Paramount spokesman told Fox News Digital “This lawsuit is fully separated from and unrelated to Skydance transaction and the approval procedure for the FCC.
Redstone spokesman told Fox News Digital that in February she had pulled herself out of Paramount a discussion of a potential settlement. CBS News and President Trump lawyer did not respond to comment requests.
The odds of the announced settlement in the coming days are not out of reach. “60 minutes” broadcast the last episode of the season last Sunday and will not broadcast new episodes by the fall, preventing someone like Scott Pelley sounding to viewers on the network drama as he did last month after Owens outlet.
Earlier this month, in the midst of a legal drama that was tormented by Paramount and CBS News, “60 minutes” choice at the center of all received an Emmy nomination For an extraordinary landscaped interview.
