Karoline Leavitt Reportedly Threatened CBS Anchor Tony Dokoupil to Not Edit Trump Interview: ‘We’ll Sue Your Ass Off’

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt threatened CBS News Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil the administration would “sue your ass off” moments after he finished his 13-minute interview with President Donald Trump, The New York Times reported Saturday — although some witnesses weren’t sure if she was being serious.

Leavitt approached Dokoupil after he asked his last question of the president on Wednesday,  The Times reported.

The paper reported the following exchange:

“[Trump] said, ‘Make sure you guys don’t cut the tape, make sure the interview is out in full,” Ms. Leavitt said in an even tone, according to a recording of the exchange obtained by The New York Times.

“Yeah, we’re doing it, yeah,” Mr. Dokoupil responded.

Ms. Leavitt replied: “He said, ‘If it’s not out in full, we’ll sue your ass off.’”

“Some of the CBS personnel who were there absorbed Ms. Leavitt’s remarks as being in jest, according to a person familiar with their thinking,” the report said.

Trump joined Dokoupil after he made an appearance at the Ford Truck Plant in Dearborn, Michigan.

Leavitt’s comments stand out, considering Trump sued CBS News in 2024 over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with ex-Vice President Kamala Harris; corporate parent Paramount settled the suit for $16 million.

CBS News did, in fact, run Dokoupil’s entire 13-minute interview, and said in a statement that the network planned it that way from the interview’s inception.

“The moment we booked this interview, we made the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety,” the statement said.

Dokoupil was hand-picked by new CBS News boss Bari Weiss, who has been described as brandishing a “polite” form of Trumpism. When she was hired, Trump heralded Weiss as CBS News’ “great new leader.”

The decision was highly criticized by First Amendment advocates who feared Weiss’ politics would interfere with the journalistic standards at CBS News. Several missteps have since been recorded, including Dokoupil’s promotional video trashing legacy media and pointing to the direction the network was heading.

“On too many stories the press missed the story,” Dokoupil said shortly before his debut, “because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you.”

Dokoupil ended by declaring, “We respect you” and “We love America.”  In another instance, Dokoupil ended his broadcast with, “Marco Rubio, we salute you.”