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FCC and CBS release unedited '60 Minutes' Kamala Harris interview amid Trump lawsuit

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FCC and CBS release unedited '60 Minutes' Kamala Harris interview amid Trump lawsuit

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday took the unusual step of releasing raw transcripts and video footage of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris, which has sparked heated debate over the network’s credibility and press freedoms.

Paramount Global-owned CBS followed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s move by separately publishing its interview transcripts and footage from the October interview. CBS turned over the same material to the government Monday night, following a demand by Carr, who was appointed to the post by President Trump.

Carr said that publishing the previously unreleased footage and opening up a case file would “serve the public interest.” The FCC now plans to accept public comment.

“The people will have a chance to weigh in,” Carr wrote on social media site X.

The FCC inquiry has raised the stakes in a separate dispute between Trump and CBS and has also tested the limits of journalists’ 1st Amendment rights.

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Trump backed out of a scheduled sit-down with “60 Minutes,” but the network went forward with an interview of Harris in the closing weeks of the presidential campaign. CBS broadcast a clip from the Harris interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” public affairs program. The following night, a longer version of the Harris interview ran as part of a special “60 Minutes” episode.

Trump and his supporters cried foul, pointing to discrepancies between Harris’ answers in the two interview segments. Trump sued CBS for $10 billion, alleging that the network had engaged in deceptive editing practices in an effort to tip the scales in Harris’ favor by casting her in a more favorable light with viewers.

CBS has denied the allegation, and that court case is pending in Texas.

Carr’s separate inquiry was sparked by a complaint lodged with the FCC last fall by a conservative legal nonprofit group, Center for American Rights, that also accused CBS of news distortion and political bias. Carr’s predecessor had dismissed the complaint, along with three others filed against TV stations owned by major broadcast news organizations. However, in his first week, Carr reopened the CBS “60 Minutes” case and two other election season bias complaints.

Trump’s complaint and the FCC action have stoked fears by some journalists and 1st Amendment experts that Trump and his team could use levers of power to try to chill news coverage unflattering to the president.

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The FCC’s release of CBS’ raw transcript and interview drew a sharp rebuke by one of the two Democrats serving on the commission.

“It is unprecedented and reckless for the FCC to disclose the status of an active investigation and publicly share materials before its conclusion and before they’ve been shared with other members of this independent body,” FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez said in a statement. “This action sets a dangerous precedent that threatens to undermine trust in the FCC’s role as an impartial regulator.”

In a separate online statement, CBS said it was taking the rare step of publishing “the same transcripts and videos of our interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that we provided to the FCC.”

The unedited portions of the interview proved that the edited version broadcast in October was “consistent with 60 Minutes’ repeated assurances to the public — that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful,” producers of the CBS program said.

“In reporting the news, journalists regularly edit interviews — for time, space or clarity,” the CBS News producers said. “In making these edits, 60 Minutes is always guided by the truth and what we believe will be most informative to the viewing public — all while working within the constraints of broadcast television.”

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As part of the newly released footage, CBS cameras show CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker greeting and engaging in polite banter with Harris at her residence. The four-minute segment was part of a “walk and talk” visual to accompany the interview.

“This must feel to you like an especially perilous time for the U.S. and for the world,” Whitaker says to open the interview.

“I think the stakes couldn’t be higher in this election cycle,” Harris said, ticking off political tensions around the world, including in Ukraine.

The portion of the “60 Minutes” interview that drew controversy came during Harris’ answer to a question about the Israel-Hamas war. Whitaker asked the Democratic nominee for president whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been listening to the Biden-Harris administration during the war in Gaza.

During the “Face the Nation” clip, Harris gave a wordy response.

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In the “60 Minutes” broadcast, her answer was more succinct: “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.”

CBS has defended its edits.

“We broadcast a longer portion of the vice president’s answer on Face the Nation and broadcast a shorter excerpt from the same answer on 60 Minutes the next day,” the “60 Minutes” producers wrote.

“Each excerpt reflects the substance of the vice president’s answer,” they wrote. “As the full transcript shows, we edited the interview to ensure that as much of the vice president’s answers to 60 Minutes’ many questions were included in our original broadcast while fairly representing those answers.”

The network also said the transcripts show that CBS did not pull any punches in the Harris interview.

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The network’s “hard-hitting questions of the vice president speak for themselves,” the CBS News producers said in the statement.

Gomez, the Democratic FCC commissioner, chastised her colleagues for digging into the issue. The transcripts, Gomez said, provided “no evidence that CBS and its affiliated broadcast stations violated FCC rules.”

“The FCC should stop trying to keep up with this administration’s focus on partisan culture wars and return to its core focus of protecting consumers, promoting competition, and securing our communications networks,” Gomez said.

Daniel Suhr, president of the Center for American Rights, which filed the complaint with the FCC last fall, applauded Carr’s move to release the raw footage and transcripts.

“Transparency is the key to restoring public trust in the media,” Suhr said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing the American people have their say through the FCC’s public comment file.”

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Vice President Kamala Harris talks to “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker.

(CBS News)

As part of its inquiry, the FCC set a March 7 deadline for public comments.

For weeks, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, had been agitating for her team to settle Trump’s lawsuit to facilitate her family’s sale of Paramount to David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

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That deal needs the approval of the FCC because of the transfer of CBS station licenses to the Ellison family.

The debate over whether the company would defend “60 Minutes” revealed deep divisions within CBS, a division of Paramount Global. Journalists decried the potential move, which they said seemed designed to placate Trump at the expense of the reputation and legacy of “60 Minutes.”

The issue put Redstone and some high-level Paramount executives at odds with journalists, who expressed dismay that the company did not appear willing to go to bat for one of the network’s premier brands.

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

new video loaded: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

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Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

“I’ve decided to step out of this race, and I’ll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.” “All right, so this is Quality Learing Center — meant to say Quality ‘Learning’ Center.” “Right now we have around 56 kids enrolled. If the children are not here, we mark absence.”

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Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.

By Shawn Paik

January 6, 2026

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu

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A San Francisco Democrat demanded the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of carrying out a “coup” against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

California state Sen. Scott Wiener, seen as the likely congressional successor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wiener has frequently drawn national attention for his progressive positions, including his legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom designating California as a “refuge” for transgender children and remarks at a San Francisco Pride Month event referring to California children as “our kids.”

In a lengthy public statement following the Trump administration’s arrest and extradition of Maduro to New York, Wiener said the move shows the president only cares about “enriching his public donors” and “cares nothing for the human or economic cost of conquering another country.”

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KAMALA HARRIS BLASTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO AS ‘UNLAWFUL AND UNWISE’

California State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a rally. (John Sciulli/Getty Images)

“This lawless coup is an invitation for China to invade Taiwan, for Russia to escalate its conquest in Ukraine, and for Netanyahu to expand the destruction of Gaza and annex the West Bank,” said Wiener, who originally hails from South Jersey.

He suggested that the Maduro operation was meant to distract from purportedly slumping poll numbers, the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, and to essentially seize another country’s oil reserves.

“Trump is a total failure,” Wiener said. “By engaging in this reckless act, Trump is also making the entire world less safe … Trump is making clear yet again that, under this regime, there are no rules, there are no laws, there are no norms – there is only whatever Trump thinks is best for himself and his cronies at a given moment in time.”

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GREENE HITS TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES, ARGUES ACTION ‘DOESN’T SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’

In response, the White House said the administration’s actions against Maduro were “lawfully executed” and included a federal arrest warrant.”

“While Democrats take twisted stands in support of indicted drug smugglers, President Trump will always stand with victims and families who can finally receive closure thanks to this historic action,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.

Supporters of the operation have pushed back on claims of “regime change” – an accusation Wiener also made – pointing to actions by Maduro-aligned courts that barred top opposition leader María Corina Machado from running, even as publicly reported results indicated her proxy, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the vote.

“Trump’s illegal invasion of Venezuela isn’t about drugs, and it isn’t about helping the people of Venezuela or restoring Venezuelan democracy,” Wiener added. “Yes, Maduro is awful, but that’s not what the invasion is about. It’s all about oil and Trump’s collapsing support at home.”

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EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES THAT CAPTURED MADURO

Around the country, a handful of other Democrats referenced impeachment or impeachable offenses, but did not go as far as Wiener in demanding such proceedings.

Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-Md., who represents otherwise conservative “Mountain Maryland” in the state’s panhandle, said Monday that Democrats should “imminently consider impeachment proceedings,” according to TIME.

McClain-Delaney said Trump acted without constitutionally-prescribed congressional authorization and wrongly voiced “intention to ‘run’ the country.”

SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’

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One frequent Trump foil, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., cited in a statement that she has called for Trump’s impeachment in the past; blaming Republicans for letting the president “escape accountability.”

“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality. I am reconsidering that view,” Waters said. 

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“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” she said, while appearing to agree with Trump that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and “collaborat[ion] with… terrorists.”

Wiener’s upcoming primary is considered the deciding election in the D+36 district, while a handful of other lesser-known candidates have reportedly either filed FEC paperwork or declared their candidacy, including San Francisco Councilwoman Connie Chan.

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

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California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress

California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) has died, GOP leadership and President Trump confirmed Tuesday morning.

“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip, in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”

LaMalfa, 65, was a fourth-generation rice farmer from Oroville and staunch Trump supporter who had represented his Northern California district for the past 12 years. His seat was one of several that was in jeopardy under the state’s redrawn districts approved by voters with Proposition 50.

Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from LaMalfa’s residence at 6:50 p.m. Monday, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. The congressman was taken to the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, where he died while undergoing emergency surgery, authorities said.

An autopsy to determine the cause of death is planned, according to the sheriff’s office.

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LaMalfa’s district — which stretches from the northern outskirts of Sacramento, through Redding at the northern end of the Central Valley and Alturas in the state’s northeast corner — is largely rural, and constituents have long said they felt underrepresented in liberal California.

LaMalfa put much of his focus on boosting federal water supplies to farmers, and seeking to reduce environmental restrictions on logging and extraction of other natural resources.

One LaMalfa’s final acts in the U.S. House was to successfully push for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act, a long-standing financial aid program for schools surrounded by untaxed federal forest land, whose budgets could not depend upon property taxes, as most public schools do. Despite broad bipartisan support, Congress let it lapse in 2023.

In an interview with The Times as he was walking onto the House floor in mid-December, LaMalfa said he was frustrated with Congress’s inability to pass even a popular bill like that reauthorization.

The Secure Rural Schools Act, he said, was a victim of a Congress in which “it’s still an eternal fight over anything fiscal.” It is “annoying,” LaMalfa said, “how hard it is to get basic things done around here.”

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In a statement posted on X, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said he considered LaMalfa “a friend and partner” and that the congressman was “deeply committed to his community and constituents, working to make life better for those he represented.”

“Doug’s life was one of great service and he will be deeply missed,” Schiff wrote.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement called LaMalfa a “devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented.”

“While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care,” Newsom said.

Flags at the California State Capitol in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff in honor of the congressman, according to the governor.

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Before his death, LaMalfa was facing a difficult reelection bid to hold his seat. After voters approved Proposition 50 in November — aimed at giving California Democrats more seats in Congress — LaMalfa was drawn into a new district that heavily favored his likely opponent, State Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat who represents the state’s northwest coast.

LaMalfa’s death puts the Republican majority in Congress in further jeopardy, with a margin of just two votes to secure passage of any bill along party lines after the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday evening.

Adding to the party’s troubles, Rep. Jim Baird, a Republican from Indiana, was hospitalized on Tuesday for a car crash described by the White House as serious. While Baird is said to be stable, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson from Louisiana, will not be able to rely on his attendance. And he has one additional caucus member – Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who has made a habit of voting against the president, bringing their margin for error down effectively to zero.

President Trump, addressing a gathering of GOP House members at the Kennedy Center, addressed the news at the start of his remarks, expressing “tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member” and stating his speech would be made in LaMalfa’s honor.

“He was the leader of the Western caucus – a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water. ‘Release the water!’ he’d scream out. And a true defender of American children.”

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“You know, he voted with me 100% of the time,” Trump added.

A native of Oroville, LaMalfa attended Butte College and then earned an ag-business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He served in the California Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and the California State Senate from 2010 to 2012. Staunchly conservative, he was an early supporter of Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in California, and he also pushed for passage of the Protection of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage in California.

While representing California’s 1st District, LaMalfa focused largely on issues affecting rural California and other western states. In 2025, Congressman he was elected as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, which focuses on legislation affected rural areas.

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