On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter stated that while CBS’s editing of its interview with then-presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was mistaken and “a mess,” “that’s all it was. It was editing. It wasn’t a conspiracy to help Harris and hurt Trump, and that’s what it’s been turned into by Trump’s team. The fact that his pick for the FCC has decided to investigate this, it shows that everything based on a faulty premise is being taken very seriously by the Trump administration.”
Host Laura Coates asked, [relevant exchange begins around 33:45] “Brian, you spoke with Chairman Brendan Carr about his request for the transcript and also videos of Kamala Harris’ interview, and, of course, the free speech concerns. What did he tell you?”
Stelter responded, “He said this was a rare case, a case of a complaint against CBS for ‘news distortion,’ which is something the FCC is allowed to investigate. He said he has to see the tapes in order to know if CBS is telling the truth here. I think it is fair to say that someone at CBS screwed up back in October. This was a poor editing decision, because it stirred up lots of doubts about what Harris said. One part aired on a Sunday, the other part aired on Monday. This was a mess, but that’s all it was. It was editing. It wasn’t a conspiracy to help Harris and hurt Trump, and that’s what it’s been turned into by Trump’s team. The fact that his pick for the FCC has decided to investigate this, it shows that everything based on a faulty premise is being taken very seriously by the Trump administration. And, as a result, a news network, CBS, is being told to hand over its raw materials, its unedited transcript and tapes. That is a remarkable moment. And there are a lot of people, including some former FCC leaders, who say the government should not be doing this at all, should just butt out.”
Stelter added that in order to get a desired merger approved, CBS’s parent company has to get approval from the Trump administration, and therefore, handing over materials to the FCC looks like a payoff.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
