Donald Trump sues CBS for $10 billion

31 October 2024, 22:19

Donald Trump is suing CBS for a whopping $10 billion, alleging the network dishonestly edited its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.

The lawsuit, filed by Trump in Texas, accuses CBS of “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to … confuse, deceive, and mislead the public.”

This comes after Trump refused to take part in a 60 Minutes interview with CBS, despite almost all presidential candidates taking the hot seat in the run-up to elections in previous years.

The lawsuit was filed in Amarillo, where a judge he appointed is more likely to see the case reach the courts and demands a jury trial as well as $10 billion in damages.

He claims the network “doctored” answers given by Ms Harris, an allegation strongly rejected by CBS.

The allegations centre on a question on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Following the interview, CBS Face the Nation aired a different part of her answer than CBS's 60 Minutes.

CBS rejects the idea that it hid any part of Ms Harris’ answer

"When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point,” the network said.

"The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.

"Remember, Mr Trump pulled out of his interview with 60 Minutes and the vice president participated. Our long-standing invitation to former president Trump remains open."

It comes as Ms Harris told Americans that Donald Trump's efforts to sow division and fear are "not who we are".

She reinforced her campaign's closing argument by delivering it from the same site where the Republican former president stoked the Capitol insurrection on January 6 2021.

One week from election day, the vice president used the address from the grassy Ellipse near the White House to pledge to Americans she would work to improve their lives, while arguing that her Republican opponent is only in it for himself.

Mr Trump "has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other: That's who he is," Ms Harris said. "But America, I am here tonight to say: That's not who we are."

She reminded voters of Mr Trump's role in the events of January 6 and his focus on his own self-interest.

"Look, we know who Donald Trump is. He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election," she said.

She did not deliver a treatise on democracy - a staple of President Joe Biden's own attempts to draw a contrast with Mr Trump.

Instead she aimed to make a broader case for why voters should reject Mr Trump and consider what she offers, while introducing herself to voters still clamouring for more information and encouraging the crowd to visualise their divergent futures hanging in the balance on election day.

"He has an enemies list of people he intends to prosecute," Ms Harris said. "He says one of his highest priorities is to set free the violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers on January 6.

"Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. People he calls 'the enemy from within'. This is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better."