FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is condemning Donald Trump‘s attacks on CBS over edits done to a 60 Minutes interview, calling them “threats against free speech” that are “serious and should not be ignored.”
Trump has been attacking the CBS program over edits made to its interview with Kamala Harris. In a post on Truth Social this morning, he wrote, “60 Minutes is a major part of the News Organization of CBS, which has just created the Greatest Fraud in Broadcast History. CBS should lose its license, and it should be bid out to the Highest Bidder, as should all other Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS — and maybe even WORSE!”
In a statement, Rosenworcel said, “While repeated attacks against broadcast stations by the former President may now be familiar, these threats against free speech are serious and should not be ignored. As I’ve said before, the First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy. The FCC does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”
Trump and others on the right have compared Harris’ response to a question from Bill Whitaker that ran in a 60 Minutes promo to one that ultimately aired on the program. Whitaker noted to Harris that it seemed like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “not listening” to the administration. In the promo clip, Harris provided a lengthy response; on the show, it was a shorter response. Trump claims that the show was trying to make Harris appear “more presidential.”
CBS has not commented, but 60 Minutes and other newsmagazines routinely edit interviews for time and clarity. The show was still being edited at the time the promo went out on Sunday morning, with the broadcast as an election special on Monday night.
TV stations, not networks, obtain licenses from the FCC for the use of public airwaves, and those licenses are up for regular renewal. The agency states that “the First Amendment and the Communications Act bar the FCC from telling station licensees how to select material for news programs or prohibiting the broadcast of an opinion on any subject. We also do not review anyone’s qualifications to gather, edit, announce, or comment on the news.”
The exception, the agency noted, is the “intentional falsification of the news.”
“Of particular concern would be evidence of the direction to employees from station management to falsify the news. However, absent such a compelling showing, the Commission will not intervene,” the agency notes.
The commission has fined stations in egregious circumstances. In 2017, when Republicans held a majority on the commission, it fined Sinclair Broadcast Group $13 million for failing to identify news programming about a cancer foundation as paid content.
With less than four weeks to go until the election, Trump also is trying to create a controversy over a program that he declined to participate in. During the 60 Minutes election special, Scott Pelley went through the timeline of how Trump’s initially agreed to the interview, then backed out, and then offered shifting explanations for it, including that the former president did not want to be fact checked.
Trump has threatened the license of networks when he was in the White House. In 2017, he challenged NBC’s license after it reported that his then Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, had called him a “moron.”
More recently, Trump called for an investigation of ABC News for the way that they conducted the Sept. 10 presidential debate.
