Catherine Herridge Holds CBS' Feet to the Fire Over Passive Aggressive Statement on Harris Edit Scandal

CBS finally got around to responding to the editing scandal from their "60 Minutes" interview of Vice President Kamala Harris.

They released a very passive aggressive statement that seemed more about trying to attack former President Donald Trump than it was about their editing.

CBS just released a statement on its 60 Minutes edit of the Kamala interview.

Still no transcript or transparency, but now attacking Trump. Don’t know which PR genius thought this was a good idea… pic.twitter.com/QzijRafKhv
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) October 20, 2024

Former President Donald Trump is accusing 60 Minutes of deceitful editing of our Oct. 7 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. That is false.
60 Minutes gave an excerpt of our interview to ‘Face the Nation’ that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point. The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide-ranging 21-minute-long segment.

They claimed Trump pulled out of the interview and his camp disputed that, saying it had never been agreed to.

Our long-standing invitation to former President Trump remains open, If he would like to discuss the issues facing the nation and the Harris interview, we would be happy to have him on 60 Minutes.

It would be hard to find a worse statement to try to dig their way out of this hole they created. It isn't about Trump, and pretending to act like Democrats with a "but Trump" type of excuse makes them look worse.

Everyone was concerned about what CBS did, not just Trump, and they owe an obligation to the American people to report honestly. At this point, they've sold all their credibility down the river with this response.

They're claiming the accusations of editing are false while essentially admitting they are true, and that they made things more "succinct." Yes, that's the problem.

Another problem is that the interview was reportedly 45 minutes, yet we only saw 21 minutes. What else did they cut out and did they cut it out because it was disqualifying?

Former CBS investigative reporter Catherine Herridge wasn't buying this and repeated the solution: Release the transcript. She also made it clear this response showed that they haven't been able to wiggle out from under the scandal.

This statement is an indicator @CBSNews hasn’t contained the fallout from its Kamala Harris @60Minutes edit.

Releasing the full unedited transcript is consistent with journalistic transparency and it stands behind the integrity of the entire Kamala Harris edit, not just the… pic.twitter.com/7HoBtTxQ33
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) October 21, 2024

This statement is an indicator @CBSNews hasn’t contained the fallout from its Kamala Harris @60Minutes edit. Releasing the full unedited transcript is consistent with journalistic transparency and it stands behind the integrity of the entire Kamala Harris edit, not just the clips under scrutiny.CBS has the ability to immediately settle these questions and address merits of FCC complaint alleging “news distortion.”There is ample precendent@CBSNews for releasing full, unedited transcripts.

Then she listed the various precedents when they've released transcripts in the past and linked the complaint that has been lodged with the FCC against CBS for what they did by the Center for American Rights (CAR).

So when CBS doesn't release the transcript following their own precedents, you have to think there's a big reason that they don't want to release it. What are they hiding if they cut out 24 minutes?

Given their answer frankly, I want the full unedited raw footage, now more than ever.

Many weighed in behind Herridge's request, including John Ondrasik, Elon Musk, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).