There are only two options in relation to the “60 Minutes” meeting, in which at least one of Vice President Kamala Harris ‘ responses to a crucial question was politically edited: Either Kamala’s managers insisted on redoing some of her remarks, or the software unintentionally assisted in cleaning them up on its own.
Whichever chance reflects fact, CBS is now engaged in a cover-up, and until CBS makes a complete text and picture of the meeting available, there’s a strong circumstance that the outlet made an in-kind donation to Kamala’s campaign, which would be illegal.
On Sunday, the channel released a statement dispelling allegations of “deceitful editing.” By way of excusing itself, CBS said it had made a still-confounding change to one of Kamala’s solutions related to U. S. Israel relations because” the part of her truth on 60 Minutes was more precise, which allows occasion for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long section”.
When a separate version of Kamala’s comments was posted online prior to the incident and was widely criticized for its ridiculous, unintelligible response, the explanation is an admission that producers chose to air a more flattering (” succinct” ) portion of the response. Taken in context — , CBS’s declining to release a complete, correct transcript, plus video, and its decision to make that particular edit ( and possibly some ) — , it’s a much nastier position.
No matter what you choose, following either path until it comes to its logical conclusion demonstrates that CBS has made editorial choices that either violate its journalistic standards ( as applicable ) or potentially subject the network to legal sanctions for violating campaign finance law.
Just to illustrate the point, Donald Trump was convicted and criminally prosecuted for essentially the same admitted sin. The previous president was charged with violating campaign finance laws by paying a lawyer to negotiate a legal dispute and failing to provide specifics during an election time. Also, CBS probably donated time and resources to assisting Kamala’s battle without formally disclosing its factor.
If Democrats and the internet claim to be as committed to the truth as they claim, it’s only logical for the Justice Department to step in and appoint a particular guidance to look into whether CBS broke any rules.
If “60 Minutes” heeded the Kamala party’s request to re-shoot complete answers to even a second question, then the program has severely shattered whatever is left of its reputation as a prominent news magazine. If “60 Minutes” surreptitiously edited its program after initial public criticism proved harmful to a political candidate, then it may need to disclose its campaign contribution, which would have been illegal anyway.
Which one is it? On Tuesday, CBS News representatives did n’t respond to my email. But the fact that they have only released an interview transcript that voters know for a fact is incomplete, at minimum, makes this a cover-up, a scandal.