According to Federal Communications Commission transcripts, Kamala Harris’ 179-word Israel answer was reduced to 20 words by “60 Minutes”.

After complaints that CBS had edited Harris’ word salad answers to make them appear more coherent, the FCC has announced it is investigating CBS. Donald Trump has sued the network for $10 billion.

Brendan Carr, the FCC chair appointed by Trump, got the video and transcript on Monday, after a battle with Tiffany Network. Tiffany Network defended its editing as standard practice to “save time, space, or clarity”.

A CBS source told The Post that Wednesday, the “60 Minutes'” edit had done Harris “a lot more favors and made her appear more succinct.”

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You must watch the video. The source described the video as a “word salad”. “Feel like a cleaning on Aisle 7.” It’s not a technical offence, but you could argue that it is still a news distortion.”

Trump and conservative critics pointed out the vastly differing answers given by the Democratic Presidential candidate about the Gaza War that were aired in a promo for the “Face the Nation interview” and what was shown the next day, Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas massacre of over 1,200 Israelis.

According to the transcript, Harris’ 140-word response to a question by “60 Minutes”, correspondent Bill Whitaker, about what the US can do to prevent the war from spiraling out of control is rambling.

Let’s begin with the 7th of October. What we do must take into account what happened. As I think back to a year ago and the 1,200 victims who were killed, young people, Americans included, were held hostage at a music fest, 250 hostages taken, women brutally raped,” Harris said.

“As I stated then, Israel has the right to self-defend. We would. How it is done matters. As we look back at what has happened in recent weeks and months, we see that far too many Palestinians were killed. We all know, and I believe most people agree, that this war must end. This has always been our top priority. How can we end this war?”

The version broadcast displayed a concise, 56-word response.

Let’s begin with the 7th of October. The massacre of 12 hundred people, the taking of 250 hostages, including Americans, and the murdering or 250 others took place on October 7th. Women were brutally assaulted. As I said back then, Israel has the right to defend themselves. We would. How it is done matters. There have been far too many innocent Palestinians killed. “This war must end,” Harris said.

A question that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was “seemingly charting his own course”, while ignoring calls from Biden administration to moderate military response has also been heavily edited.

The Harris response that was broadcasted was reduced to only 20 words: “The diplomatic work we do with the leadership in Israel is an on-going pursuit that focuses on making our principles clear.”

The full transcript, however, shows Harris answering in 179 words.

Let’s begin with this. The aid we gave Israel in this area allowed Israel to defend themselves against 200 missiles that were only meant to attack Israel and its people. This is the latest example of how important it is to provide military assistance in order to help Israel defend itself. When we consider the threat Hamas and Hezbollah pose to Iran, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to help Israel defend itself from these types of attacks.

“Now, our work with the leadership in Israel is an on-going pursuit to make clear our principles. These include the necessity for humanitarian aid, for this war ending, for a deal that would free the hostages and create a truce. We will not stop putting pressure on Israel and the region. This includes other leaders, such as Arab leaders.

Harris responded to a question in the broadcast by saying: “We will not stop doing what it takes for the United States of America to be clear on where we stand regarding the end of this war.”

Harris said in the un-edited version: “Well Bill, our work has led to a number movements by Israel in that area that were prompted or a result from many things including, but not limited to, our advocacy of what needs happen in the regional. We won’t stop doing it. We will not stop doing what it takes to make sure that the United States is clear on where they stand in regards to the end of this war.

Carr announced that the FCC would hold hearings on a complaint filed by the Center for American Rights (a right-leaning activist organization) regarding CBS News’ alleged deceptive edits.

The FCC concluded that setting up a docket to receive comments on the issues raised by the complaint would be in the public’s best interest. Carr wrote in a X post that the public will be able to comment.

CBS, who released the unedited documents on Wednesday to the public, stated that the transcripts “show – consistent with 60 Minutes’ repeated assurances to public –that the 60 Minutes broadcast wasn’t doctored or misleading.”

The FCC is examining whether the broadcast has violated “news distortion” rules. The FCC is not allowed to censor or violate the First Amendment rights, but broadcasters are prohibited from intentionally distorting the news.

Carr’s findings of misleading editing could affect the regulatory approval of Paramount and Skydance’s merger, expected to be completed by the end of next month, for $8 billion.

According to an agency filing, the FCC has scheduled public hearings for 7 March and a response for 24 March.

Trump and CBS are reportedly in “very preliminary” talks about settling his lawsuit, which has enraged network staff.

This puts tremendous pressure on Shari and Paramount to not pay Trump. Another CBS source told The Post that if they did, it would be extortion for the licenses.

Redstone, who is the media heiress and controls Paramount, is reportedly set to receive $1.75 billion in the Skydance agreement.

The FCC is an independent federal agency that issues licenses for eight years to broadcast stations and not networks.