Democrats are calling for a Federal Communications Commission investigation after a key exchange from President Trump's interview with 60 Minutes was left out of the show's extended online cut. The omitted segment, in which Trump sidestepped a question about possible corruption relating to his pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, drew scrutiny after it appeared only in the full transcript posted by CBS News—not in the 73-minute "extended" video version released online, Axios reports.
Trump's first full 60 Minutes interview since 2019, which aired in a much shorter 28-minute segment on Sunday, came amid a backdrop of legal disputes between the former president and CBS, including a recent settlement over alleged editing of an interview with Kamala Harris. The network said the longer cut had been "condensed for clarity." During the interview, Trump said was asked about Zhao, who has close ties to the Trump family's cryptocurrency business, and said he had "no idea" who he is. "I don't know the man at all. I don't think I ever met him. Maybe I did," he said. "Or, you know, somebody shook my hand or something. But I don't think I ever met him. I have no idea who he is."
O'Donnell asked Trump why he had pardoned Zhao even though prosecutors had said he caused significant harm to national security. Trump said he had been told Zhao was the victim of a Biden administration "witch hunt," the BBC reports. Asked if he was concerned about the "appearance of corruption," Trump responded, "I can't say, because—I can't say—I'm not concerned. I don't—I'd rather not have you ask the question." That response was missing from the video versions. The FCC's only Democratic commissioner, through a spokesperson, cited the Trump-era FCC's own standards for "news distortion" and argued that, by those rules, the omission could merit an investigation.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took a jab at the situation on social media, talking about filing a complaint of his own. "Maybe I should file a complaint with the FCC against the Trump White House for editing his unhinged 60 Minutes interview," Schumer said in a post on X. "It will use the exact same language Trump lodged against Vice President Harris." In July, Paramount, CBS' owner, agreed to pay $16 million to settle a $20 billion lawsuit from Trump that claimed the Harris interview had been deceptively edited.
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