CBS, on Friday, filed to dismiss Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit over the editing of Kamala Harris' "60 Minutes" interview.
In its request to dismiss, CBS argued that Trump's claims do not form a legal basis and that the First Amendment safeguards its right to edit news interviews. CBS' lawyers argued that the First Amendment shields the network from liability for editorial decisions the President may disagree with, highlighting that CBS had the right to shorten the vice president's response for time constraints. They added, "Such decisions are not subject to judicial second-guessing."
In the final days of the presidential campaign, Trump had filed a lawsuit, alleging that Kamala Harris' interview had been misleadingly edited to portray her as "coherent and decisive."
CBS contended that the law doesn't apply to news broadcasts and that Trump would have no grounds to sue, even if it did. The network further argued that Trump wasn't actually confused by the interview and, therefore, didn't suffer any harm from it. CBS also pointed out that Trump's claims of election interference are irrelevant, as he won the election.
Furthermore, the network also argued that the lawsuit should either be dismissed entirely or transferred to the Southern District of New York, where the network is headquartered, emphasizing that the case has no relevant ties to Texas and is more appropriately handled in New York. CBS later stated that Trump had initially agreed to participate in an interview for the "60 Minutes" special but then decided to back out.
Trump filed the lawsuit on October 31 in the Amarillo Division of the Northern District of Texas. Trump filed the lawsuit under the Texas consumer fraud statute, with his lawyers arguing that, as a "consumer" of CBS's broadcast services, Trump and millions of others were deceived and misled by the interview with Harris.
Trump has also called for ABC to lose its license for fact-checking him during his September debate with Harris.
President-elect Trump is currently in Europe this weekend for his first international trip since his decisive win in last month's presidential election. Since the November election, Trump has received numerous calls from international leaders congratulating him on his victory in the White House.
