Former President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit Thursday against CBS after the network appeared to manipulate a recent “60 Minutes” segment to allegedly favor his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The lawsuit claims that CBS aired a curated version of Harris’s response to a critical question about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, purposely omitting parts of her answer that cast doubt on the Biden administration’s stance on Israel’s military actions, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Texas. Trump’s legal team argued that CBS engaged in “deliberate deception,” presenting an edited version of the interview that avoided what the lawsuit calls a “word salad” of mixed messaging from Harris.
“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,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit alleges the edit unfairly bolstered Harris’ image in a close race as election day approaches. The complaint seeks a jury trial and $10 billion in damages under Texas laws prohibiting deceptive business practices.
Trump has criticized CBS for its ongoing refusal to release the full transcript of its “60 Minutes” interview with Harris. An investigation by The Daily Caller uncovered that top executives at CBS and its parent company, Paramount, have extensive ties to Democratic donors, intensifying scrutiny ahead of Harris’s public appearances and the upcoming VP debate.
Trump previously called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke CBS’s broadcast license, The Washington Post reported. The FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel rejected the idea to revoke the license, but an FCC commissioner urged the chair to review a complaint demanding CBS release the full transcript of its “60 Minutes” interview with Harris.
The complaint, filed by the Center for American Rights on October 16, accuses CBS of airing two versions of Harris’s response to a question on U.S.-Israel relations, a claim the commissioner says warrants serious consideration.
CBS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Donald J. Trump
