Last fall, Kamala Harris sat down with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” and when the pre-election interview aired, it included the kind of benign edits that are typical of broadcasts of its kind. Donald Trump, however, didn’t quite see it that way.
Rather, the Republican became rather hysterical about the largely meaningless edits, accusing the program of criminal misconduct, demanding that CBS lose its broadcast license, and even filing a $20 billion lawsuit over the manufactured controversy. (The network’s corporate parent recently settled the case out of court under controversial circumstances.)
All of this came to mind anew this week when the public was reminded of one of Trump’s Fox News interviews from last year in which he commented on Jeffrey Epstein’s case and his willingness to share information about the case with the public. Though the entirety of the interview appeared on the network’s website, and was also aired on a Fox radio program, those who watched the interview on Fox News saw an edited version of the Republican’s comments.
And while Rep. Robert Garcia of California doesn’t appear likely to file any $20 billion lawsuits, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee does have a few questions about exactly what transpired. CNN reported:
A top oversight Democrat sent a letter on Thursday to Fox Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott demanding answers about Fox’s editing of a Donald Trump interview from June 2024 concerning Jeffrey Epstein — an edit they say both misled the public and distorted the former president’s position. The letter from the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight Committee, obtained first by CNN, accuses Fox of omitting key qualifiers in Trump’s response to a question about whether he would release Epstein-related documents.
MaddowBlog has independently verified the accuracy of the report.
Garcia specifically asked Fox News to turn over internal records about the interview, as well as communications about the interview between the network and the Trump campaign.
“Considering President Trump’s well-documented past social ties with Jeffrey Epstein, Fox News’s selective omission raises serious concerns that the network may have deliberately sought to shield then-candidate Trump from any further association with Epstein,” the letter read, adding, “it is legitimate to ask whether President Trump himself or those close to him may have actively encouraged” the edit.
Fox News issued a statement in response to Garcia’s outreach, noting, among other things, “As previously stated, there was no selective or deceptive editing whatsoever.”
There’s no shortage of angles to a story like this one, so let’s unpack it.
First, it’s important to emphasize that the congressman’s outreach to Fox News came in an informal request, which the network is likely to ignore. The Oversight Committee’s Republican majority sends out subpoenas all the time, but Garcia is in the minority and has no legal authority to compel cooperation.
Those expecting major revelations from the effort, in other words, should temper their expectations. Second, while I can appreciate the underlying point Garcia is making — he didn’t literally say, “Two can play at this game,” but he didn’t have to — I would much prefer if members of Congress didn’t make a habit of demanding private information from media outlets. But stepping back, I’m also struck by the degree to which Democrats appear to be taking “it’s time to get tougher and start playing hardball” advice to heart. Just in recent days, we’ve seen Democratic officials at the state and federal level respond to GOP mid-decade redistricting plans with comparable efforts of their own; Democratic members of Congress repeatedly put Republicans in awkward positions related to forcing the release of files related to the Epstein case; and now Democrats leaning on Fox News over a controversial and edited pre-election interview with Trump. I have a hunch we haven’t seen the last of these efforts. Watch this space. This piece has been updated to note Fox News’ official statement.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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