The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday denied CBS’s request to immediately dismiss a complaint filed by a conservative group regarding the network’s controversial “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, aired just weeks before the election.
The complaint, brought forth by the Center for American Rights and criticized by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, focuses on CBS’s handling of Harris’s response to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. CBS aired one portion of her answer on “60 Minutes” and a different excerpt on “Face the Nation,” prompting allegations of deceptive editing.
Trump has since filed a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS, claiming the network manipulated the interview to interfere with the election, which he won against Harris.
CBS, owned by Paramount Global, defended its editorial decisions, arguing that its practices were standard for condensing lengthy interviews into time-limited broadcasts. The network urged the FCC to dismiss the complaint swiftly, stating in a public filing that “the transcript and unedited interview footage demonstrate that CBS engaged in commonplace editorial practices.”
However, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr pushed back, stating that an investigation is still ongoing. “We’re not close in my view to the position of dismissing that complaint at this point,” Carr told Reuters on Tuesday.
The controversy comes as Paramount seeks FCC approval for an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media, a deal that controlling stakeholder Shari Redstone had anticipated would be finalized by now.
CBS cited concerns from conservative advocacy groups warning that any FCC action could infringe on First Amendment rights and establish the agency as a regulator of journalistic content. The network argued that the lawsuit attempts to transform the FCC into “a full-time censor of content.”
While the FCC cannot censor news or infringe on First Amendment protections, it does enforce rules against intentional news distortion. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has dismissed the investigation as baseless, arguing it serves only to “harass CBS and chill those putting forth disfavored viewpoints.”
Under Carr’s leadership, the FCC has reinstated complaints not only about the Harris interview but also about ABC’s handling of a pre-election debate and NBC’s decision to feature Harris on “Saturday Night Live” before the election. His predecessor, Jessica Rosenworcel, had initially rejected these complaints in January.
