The network announced Friday it will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews, subject to national security or legal restrictions
CBS News says that it will no longer edit interviews on its Sunday news show, “Face the Nation”, days after a complaint from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The broadcaster announced Friday it will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews, subject to national security or legal restrictions, on the show.
The decision comes after Secretary Noem claimed that CBS News had “shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth” when she appeared on August 31 to discuss Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant mistakenly deported to El Salvador who has become a high-profile case in the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
Noem’s interview with “Face the Nation” was taped in advance. After it was aired, Noem claimed that an important section of the interview had been cut, and posted her full, unedited response on X.
In the full response, she made a series of unproven accusations about Abrego Garcia, alleging that he was a member of gang MS-13, a “wife-beater” and had solicited nude photos from minors. Abrego Garcia has denied the accusations against him.
In response to Noem’s accusations, CBS News said that four minutes of the secretary’s interview had been edited out for timing purposes.
On Friday, the network said it will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews on the show, meaning guests’ statements will not be edited, subject to legal or national security restrictions.
In a statement to The Independent, a CBS News spokesperson said: “In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews.
“Face the Nation will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews (subject to national security or legal restrictions). This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online.”
The spokesperson did not comment on whether Noem’s complaint had affected the decision.
Noem’s unedited interview was posted on CBS News’ website and on its YouTube channel.
The broadcaster’s change in editing policy is likely to renew claims that CBS is capitulating to the Trump administration, after settling with the president over his “60 Minutes” lawsuit.
Trump had accused the network of “partisan and unlawful acts of election and voter interference” intended to “mislead the public and attempt to tip the scales” of the 2024 presidential election in favor of former vice president Kamala Harris after it aired different clips of her interview on “60 Minutes” and “Face the Nation.”
Trump repeatedly alleged that Harris’ interview was edited by CBS News at the direction of her campaign, which the network denied.
Ultimately, CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, agreed to pay $16 million to Trump to settle the lawsuit.
The new CBS News editing policy raises the possibility that it would allow guests to spread unchecked falsehoods on “Face the Nation”. However, hosts will still be able to fact-check or challenge claims made by interview subjects, an anonymous CBS News employee told the Associated Press.
