Former President Donald Trump threatened to sue CBS News on Monday in a letter demanding the publication of Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent “60 Minutes” interview in its entirety, unedited.
The letter, written by Trump’s lawyer Edward Palczyk, comes after the news station aired a “fabricated” interview with Harris, 60, on its prime-time election special “60 Minutes” on Oct. 7. denounced the move as “an attempt to mislead the American people ahead of the presidential election.” presidential election. ”
“Due to potential litigation, we request that all communications and documents related to this interview be preserved, along with any redactions to the interview content, and that no related communications or documents be destroyed,” Palczyk wrote. “Litigation Pending and Demand” letter addressed to CBS News’ legal director.
He also called on the broadcaster to “immediately provide and release the full, unedited version of the 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.”
The Trump lawyers’ letter was sent a day after “60 Minutes” acknowledged that it used “different parts” of the vice president’s answers to questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on its prime-time broadcast. “Face the Nation” was held the day before.
“Her answers on 60 Minutes were more concise,” the show said in a statement, arguing that “the broader 21-minute segment frees up time for other subjects.”
The dramatic edit comes after 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker noted that “Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn’t seem to be listening” to the Harris-Biden administration regarding the Gaza war. It was done.
The Democratic candidate’s response on the Oct. 7 show was far different and far more consistent than the rambling answers he gave in the Oct. 6 preview video, which was derided as a “word salad” on social media. There was sex.
“CBS and its 60 Minutes producers deliberately misled the public by airing a highly edited transcript of the interview while choosing to release other portions online,” Palczyk said. I wrote it. “These manipulative edits were intended to cause confusion among voters regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ abilities, intelligence, and attractiveness.”
“Because of CBS’s actions, the public cannot tell whether the Kamala Harris they see is the candidate or whether she is a puppet of behind-the-scenes editors,” Palczyk added. He claimed that the interview was intended to “portray the vice president.” In a better light. ”
The Trump campaign first demanded the release of the full, unedited version of Harris’ “60 Minutes” interview the day after it aired, saying the vice president’s “word salad was deceptively edited to soften Kamala’s stupid response.” ” he claimed.
“What else have we chosen not to air?” Trump campaign press secretary Caroline Levitt said earlier this month.
Earlier Monday, President Trump, 78, said the editing of “60 Minutes” “could be the biggest scandal in the history of broadcasting!”
“CBS must release the transcript now. The lawsuit has already begun,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Mr. Harris couldn’t put two sentences together, so they deleted her answer entirely and inserted another sentence,” the former president said. “The public has a right to know what was changed to save this totally unqualified presidential candidate from our nation’s voters.”
“She’s a threat to democracy!”
Representatives for “60 Minutes” and CBS News did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
