Dan Abrams Buries CBS For Handing Over Kamala Harris Transcript to FCC: ‘One of the More Cowardly Moves In Recent News History’
Mediaite founder Dan Abrams ripped into CBS after the network announced they are handing over transcript and camera feed from an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
On NewsNation, Abrams laid out that he had no issue with the transcript being public, noting he argued it should be released when President Donald Trump called for it. CBS denied Trump’s accusation of “deceitful editing” in October after then-candidate Trump took issue with a preview clip of a 60 Minutes interview not matching an actual Harris segment. Trump said at the time that he would “subpoena” CBS’ records.
The FCC sent an inquiry to CBS last month demanding the “full, unedited transcript and camera feeds” from the Harris interview.
“We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do,” CBS announced in a statement.
Abrams called the latest move by CBS in complying with the FCC “one of the more cowardly moves” in recent media history. He also noted CBS’ move is likely tied to the network’s parent company being in the midst of a “sensitive merger.”
The NewsNation host argued:
One of the more cowardly moves in recent news history, and that’s saying a lot, CBS News says it has just turned over to the government unedited video and transcripts from 60 Minutes of its interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris. Remember the big controversy right back in the fall? 60 Minutes aired an answer from Harris that was different from the one the network showed in a preview clip to the same question asked by the reporter. The answer, presented on 60 Minutes seemed more cogent than the one shown in the preview. President Trump at the time called it deceitful editing, and I said at the time it was fair for him to ask that CBS released the full transcript. I thought they should have done that. They didn’t. But now President Trump was elected and CBS’ parent company is involved in a sensitive merger that will need government approval. CBS is claiming they are required to turn it over to the FCC.
Abrams played a clip of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Fox News explaining that the inquiry to CBS was under something called the “news distortion policy.” Carr said the FCC is investigating a complaint over whether CBS overstepped in its editing of the Harris interview.
Abrams responded:
The problem with that is the reason we know about the editing is because CBS released both these clips! And using that reasoning, they could demand access to all sorts of news-gathering. Here’s the policy. The policy that Chairman Carr, cited, quote, ‘News distortion must involve a significant event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of the news report. Courts have recognized that the policy makes a crucial distinction between deliberate distortion and mere inaccuracy or difference of opinion. As a result, broadcasters are only subject to enforcement if it can be proven that they have deliberately distorted a factual news report, expressions of opinion or errors stemming from mistakes are not actionable.’ Despite President Trump claiming it was intentional, he has no evidence to suggest that. And I can’t even imagine how the transcript would change that.
Watch above via NewsNation.
