CBS must release the full Kamala Harris transcript to live up to its own stated standards

With even the Harris-Walz campaign disavowing CBS’s hack editing job of Bill Whitaker’s interview with the Democratic nominee, the network’s only hope of regaining any credibility is to release the full transcript.

As we’ve noted, the network left no question it had reshaped the “full video” to conceal Kamala Harris’ inept answers to Whitaker’s entirely professional questioning.

It released an uncut back-and-forth to promote the airing of the “full” interview — then broadcast a version that deceptively made it seem like she’d given a (somewhat) coherent answer to his question about why Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu “is not listening” to the Biden administration’s advice and requests.

And the transcript CBS later released also cut her word-salad response.

What else wound up on the cutting-room floor, both on video and in print?

The American people deserve to know the full truth.

Given how awful Harris looked even after CBS chose to deceive its viewers, this may well be the last serious interview she does before Election Day: The network has a clear duty to the public to share the whole thing.

Former CBS reporter Catherine Herridge notes there’s even precedent for the network releasing a complete, raw transcript: It did so for her interview with then-President Donald Trump in 2020.

CBS News claims it’s “dedicated to providing the highest quality journalism.” More: “Our mission is to empower Americans across all ages and demographics to understand the stories and issues that shape the world around us.”

And: “We will always seek to hold your elected officials accountable through fair, unbiased and fact-based reporting.”

Keeping the full transcript secret breaks every one of those promises. Cough it up, already.