A multi-billion dollar lawsuit filed in a Texas court is accusing a major news conglomerate of airing a "deceitful" interview with the Democratic presidential nominee in October.
Former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit Thursday, October 31, just days before the Presidential Election, against CBS Broadcasting Inc. and CBS Interactive Inc., over an interview conducted with his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris on 60 Minutes.
The lawsuit obtained by MySA, which was filed in a Northern District of Texas Amarillo division which is presided by a lone judge appointed by Trump, alleges the interview "amounts to a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election."
The suit comes weeks after Trump said on social media platform Truth Social on October 10 that CBS should "lose its license, and it should be bid out to the highest bidder, as should all other (sic) Broadcast Licenses, because they are just as corrupt as CBS - and maybe worse."
The lawsuit alleges that the original airing of the 60 Minutes interview on October 5 was changed on October 6 with Harris giving "a completely different, more succinct answer," to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Millions of Americans, including residents of Texas and this District, were confused and misled by the two doctored Interview versions," the suit alleges.
The lawsuit then references Trump's Truth Social post on October 7 which states "In normal times, what happened on 60 Minutes, (deceptively 'doctoring' her answers), would be THE END OF ANYONE'S CAMPAIGN."
"Kamala is slow, incoherent, and in no way qualified to be President of the United States," he said. "RELEASE THE TAPES FOR THE GOOD OF AMERICA. We can do it the nice way, or the hard way!"
CBS and 60 Minutes released a statement on Thursday that says the interview was "not doctored; and 60 Minutes did not hide any part of Vice President Kamala Harris's answer to the question at issue."
"60 Minutes fairly presented the interview to inform the viewing audience, and not to mislead it," the statement reads. "The lawsuit Trump has brought today against CBS is completely without merit and we will vigorously defend against it."
Former President Trump is demanding a jury trial, per the lawsuit, and is asking for compensatory damages up to $10 billion. It also demands that CBS release the full recordings and the unedited transcript of the current vice president's response.
"CBS's distortion of the 60 Minutes Interview damaged President Trump's fundraising and support values by several billions of dollars, particularly in Texas," the lawsuit claims.