CBS News set to release unedited transcript of controversial Harris interview
Donald Trump has long crusaded against what he famously refers to as “fake news,” and in recent months, he has taken to the courts as a means to obtain accountability from those who promulgate it.
As Fox News reports, Trump is currently in settlement talks with CBS News' parent company, Paramount, with regard to a $10 billion lawsuit filed by the president concerning claims of deceptive editing of an interview with Kamala Harris, a full, unaltered transcript of which is now set for release.
Trump sues over “deceptive conduct”
It was back in October that Trump filed suit over allegations that CBS News engaged in editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Harris that was designed to favor her presidential bid over his.
Trump claims that a long, confusing and meandering answer given by Harris that was used in a promotional clip was adjusted to come across as more focused and concise by the time the full interview aired in prime time.
The network initially refused Trump's demand for release of the complete transcript, insisting that no doctoring of Harris' response occurred, but since then, the Federal Communications Commission, led by Brendan Carr, wrote to the network and requested the “full, unedited transcript and camera feeds.”
A CBS News spokesperson said in the aftermath of that request, “We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do.”
As Fortune reports, sources suggest that executives at Paramount believe that a settlement with Trump may be the best way to prevent regulators from delaying or stopping ts intended multibillion dollar merger with entertainment company Skydance.
Trump wins continue to mount
The potential settlement with Paramount comes on the heels of a settlement Trump reached with ABC News in a defamation lawsuit related to comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulous.
As the Associated Press noted, Stephanopoulous falsely said on air that Trump had been found liable for rape in a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, and as a result, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million, earmarked for Trump's eventual presidential library.
Adding to the list of Trump wins in this realm was a recent announcement from Meta, declaring that it would pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit over Facebook and Instagram's suspensions of the president's accounts in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, unrest, as NBC News reports.
The terms of the settlement provide that Meta will pay $22 million toward Trump's presidential library, with another $3 million set aside for legal fees and other plaintiffs in the matter.
An attorney for Trump recently articulated the very simple proposition driving his client's actions, stating that the president “is committed to holding those who traffic in deception and fake news accountable,” and given the recent spate of successes, he appears to be doing precisely that.
