Former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas against CBS Broadcasting Inc. after Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview with 60 Minutes.
The lawsuit alleges that “to paper over Kamala’s ‘word salad’ weakness, CBS used its national platform on 60 Minutes to cross the line from the exercise of judgment in reporting to deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news.”
It explains that CBS aired two versions of the interview with Harris, conducted by CBS Journalist Bill Whitaker.
In both versions, Whitaker asked Harris about Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The October 5 version of the interview showed Harris saying, “Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in several movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region.”
However, in the October 6 version, Harris responds by saying, “We are not gonna [sic] stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end.”
Trump’s counsel sent a letter to CBS demanding the release of the full, unedited transcript of the interview. However, CBS’ counsel returned a letter saying they would decline to release the transcript.
After a second attempt to get CBS to release the transcript, Trump filed a lawsuit against them, saying, “CBS violated this public trust and, by reason of its recalcitrance, violates and continues to violate Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code § 17.46(a).”
Accordingly, President Trump brings this action to redress the immense harm caused to him, to his campaign, and to tens of millions of citizens in Texas and across America by CBS’s deceptive broadcasting conduct.
Trump is asking for a jury trial for all triable issues. He is also asking for compensatory damages greater than $75,000 and estimated at $10 billion, an order enjoining CBS’ “ongoing false, misleading, and deceptive acts,” and attorneys’ fees and costs.
The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division.
A CBS News spokesperson told Texas Scorecard that the allegations from Trump are false.
“Former President Trump’s repeated claims against 60 Minutes are false,” the spokesperson said. “The Interview was not doctored, and 60 MINUTES did not hide any part of the Vice President’s answer to the question at issue.”
“60 MINUTES fairly presented the Interview to inform the viewing audience, and not to mislead it,” the spokesperson continued. “The lawsuit Trump has brought today against CBS is completely without merit and we will vigorously defend against it.”
