Former CBS News staffers are reportedly calling on the network to launch an external probe into the ongoing “60 Minutes” editing controversy.
CBS News has been at the center of outrage after it aired an edited clip of Vice President Kamala Harris during its primetime “60 Minutes” election special Monday that was different from a preview of the unflattering exchange she had with veteran correspondent Bill Whitaker that was widely panned by critics.Â
“I think there should be an outside investigation,” a former CBS News journalist told The New York Post on Thursday.Â
“Obviously, there’s a problem here. If they care about journalistic integrity, they would conduct an investigation or release the full transcript,” the ex-CBS journalist added.
CBS ‘60 MINUTES’ AIRS TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM VP HARRIS TO THE SAME QUESTION
“Their credibility has been called into question and their impartiality has been called into question,” a second source told The Post. “Don’t you need a full-throated review of what went wrong?”
According to The Post, the CBS sources suggested the network bring back Al Ortiz, its former standards and practices executive director, to conduct an outside review. Ortiz retired in 2012 after working at CBS for 43 years.
CBS News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment.Â
The controversy stems from an exchange Harris had with Whitaker about the Biden administration’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with one answer released in a preview clip that aired on Sunday’s “Face The Nation” and another in Monday’s primetime special.Â
Harris was mocked by conservatives Sunday for offering a lengthy “word salad” when she was asked why it seemed like Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the U.S. However, the vice president’s lengthy answer didn’t make the version that aired on Monday night and a different, shorter, more focused answer to the same question was shown instead.Â
“Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of 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,” Harris responded in Sunday’s “Face the Nation” version.Â
Sometimes interviews are edited to save time, but when CBS aired the interview on Monday night, Harris was shown giving a different response to the same question.
“We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end,” Harris said instead.Â
Critics have accused CBS News of aiding the Harris campaign by cleaning up her messy answer for the network’s primetime audience.Â
Former President Trump blasted CBS News, calling for the network to lose its broadcasting license over what he declared “the single biggest scandal in broadcast history.”
“A giant Fake News Scam by CBS & 60 Minutes,” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. “Her REAL ANSWER WAS CRAZY, OR DUMB, so they actually REPLACED it with another answer in order to save her or, at least, make her look better. A FAKE NEWS SCAM, which is totally illegal.”Â
“TAKE AWAY THE CBS LICENSE,” he continued. “Election Interference. She is a Moron, and the Fake News Media wants to hide that fact. An UNPRECEDENTED SCANDAL!!! The Dems got them to do this and should be forced to concede the Election? WOW!”
The Harris campaign insists it had nothing to do with the edit, with an aide telling Fox News Digital, “We do not control CBS’s production decisions and refer questions to CBS.”
