Washington, D.C. — Legal analyst and attorney Jonathan Turley, renowned for his role on Fox News, recently expressed his view that a lawsuit threatened by former President Donald Trump against CBS would be legally unfounded and unnecessary. In a blog post, Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, advised against such legal action despite ongoing criticisms of media bias during electoral coverage.
Trump’s dispute stems from a “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris which aired early this month, prompting accusations from Trump that the piece was “deceptively edited.” Following the broadcast, Trump openly criticized CBS on The Dan Bongino Show, indicating his intention to possibly pursue legal action against the network. He argued that the editing processes used by “60 Minutes” were indefensible and could be a source of embarrassment for CBS if challenged legally.
During the CBS interview, Harris discussed several key issues, including her foreign policy positions on Ukraine and the Middle East, economic plans, and proposed regulations on gun ownership. Trump’s campaign has been vocal in demanding the release of a full transcript, suggesting that the edited version aired did not accurately represent the full scope of the interview.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s campaign press secretary, criticized the network’s choice of excerpts from the interview, particularly responses related to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which had been previously shown in promotional clips. Leavitt and the campaign have called for transparency, urging CBS to release the complete interview transcript to the public.
Trump went as far as to claim on his platform Truth Social that the edited broadcast was tantamount to “Election Interference and Fraud” and positioned it as a campaign finance violation—a claim not supported by federal regulations, which do not extend to editorial decisions by private organizations.
While Turley criticized the perceived media bias in the election coverage, including that of CBS, he noted that the bias alone is not actionable through lawsuits. He wrote that moments in the interview showed CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker making a concerted effort to press Harris on various topics.
Turley’s reflection on the situation emphasized that rather than pursuing litigation, the public and market dynamics would serve as more effective mechanisms for holding the media accountable. He lamented what he sees as a deterioration of journalistic standards by current reporters and editors at CBS, contrasting them with the network’s historic reputation upheld by past media legends.
Interestingly, a recent poll by the Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll revealed significant public interest in the transparency of the interview, with a vast majority across political affiliations advocating for the release of the full transcript. Conducted among 3,145 registered voters, the poll showed 85% of all voters, including 87% of Democrats, 88% of Republicans, and 80% of independents, supported this view.
Despite the controversies and claims of bias, Cheung, another Trump campaign spokesperson, mentioned to Axios that while discussions for an interview with CBS were ongoing, nothing was finalized due to disagreements on the terms, including CBS’s insistence on fact-checking during the interview process.
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