Staff Reports
Bill Owens, the executive producer of CBS’s flagship program “60 Minutes,” has taken a stance that could make even a mule look flexible, defiantly refusing to apologize amidst the storm of a $10 billion lawsuit from none other than Donald Trump. Since 2019, Owens has been at the helm of the program, and during a recent staff meeting, he reportedly made it clear that the uproar surrounding an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris won’t make him break a sweat. With a little too much confidence in his decision-making, he suggested that any talk of a settlement or an apology was pure media fabrication.
The lawsuit is the cherry on top for Trump’s ongoing battle with the mainstream media, accusing CBS News of election interference due to its creatively edited interview with Harris. Back in October, Trump claimed that CBS distorted her statements, creating a version of reality meant to smooth over her verbal gaffes and bolster the Democratic ticket right before the election. The lawsuit is a stark reminder that the stakes are high when it comes to media involvement in politics, especially when it seems there are more edits than actual substance.
IT'S ABOUT TIME LYING PURPOSEFULLY BY LEGACY MEDIA HAS CONSEQUENCES – The MSM constantly posts things that are not true about the Democrat's political opposition.
Apparently, Trump is about to win again.
JUST IN: Trump On Verge Of Huge Legal Victory Over CBS As Parent Company… pic.twitter.com/iKmyFVo0pe
— BelannF (@BelannF) February 4, 2025
The controversy revolves around a clip from “Face the Nation,” where Harris was asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reluctance to heed U.S. requests for a ceasefire. Her response was the vaudeville classic known as “word salad,” a spectacularly incoherent mess that quickly became a punchline among conservative pundits. When the full interview aired on “60 Minutes,” CBS took it upon themselves to slice and dice Harris’ convoluted remarks into a much cleaner and more palatable statement. Critics have been quick to point fingers, accusing the network of doing the Vice President a solid by making her look a little more competent right before voters cast their ballots.
Owens, with a curious blend of arrogance and dismissal, quipped that the edits were “perfectly fine,” waving away concerns as if they were pesky flies at a barbecue. The fact that Trump’s legal team is demanding the full transcript to scrutinize the edits highlights how deep the tension goes between discerning right-wing audiences and what they increasingly view as biased media manipulation. After all, if CBS feels the need to doctor interviews just to protect Democratic narratives, then there’s a real issue afoot—one that even the most casual observer should find troubling.
As Trump’s lawsuit argues, CBS News didn’t just play with the facts—they allegedly engaged in what he calls “deceitful, deceptive manipulation of news,” a charge that, while serious, is hardly a surprise given the track record of left-leaning news outlets. The lawsuit further posits that CBS used its influence not just to report, but to actively mislead the public and swing opinions in favor of Joe Biden’s camp. With the deadline to turn over the full interview transcript fast approaching, CBS is likely feeling the heat more than ever. The four-alarm fire of scrutiny isn’t going out anytime soon, and if Owens thinks he can just shrug off the criticism, he may soon find himself wishing he had invested in some plot armor.
