WATCH: FCC Commissioner Explains Whether CBS Could Be in Hot Water Over Controversial ’60 Minutes’ Editing

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Nathan Simington said his priority is to ensure the public is not misled after an accusation of “significant and intentional distortion of information” in a complaint official news regarding last week’s “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.

“This complaint could go to the arbitration board,” Simington told Fox News Digital.

CBS News has come under fire in recent days for airing two different answers to the same question in its “60 Minutes” interview last week with the Democratic candidate. Harris was mocked by conservatives when footage of her offering a lengthy “word salad” was broadcast by CBS’ “Face the Nation” to promote the “60 Minutes” session, when Bill Whitaker asked why it seemed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu I wasn’t listening to the United States

However, the vice president’s lengthy response was not aired in the version that aired Monday night on “60 Minutes” and a shorter response from Harris to the same question was aired instead. The Center for American Rights, also known as CAR, argued that the discrepancies “amounted to a deliberate distortion of information – a violation of FCC rules governing broadcasters’ public interest obligations” and officially filed a complaint with the FCC on Wednesday.

CBS ACCUSED OF ‘SIGNIFICANT AND INTENTIONAL NEWS DISTORTION’ IN FCC COMPLAINT OVER EDITION OF ’60 MINUTES’

Bill Whitaker interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris on an episode of “60 Minutes” that aired last Monday night. (Screenshots/CBS News)

Simington walked Fox News Digital through the process that could land CBS in hot water, although the network is unlikely to be punished.

“The commission acts on complaints about distortion, not on complaints about editorial positions. And so, what this claim alleges is that an act of distortion took place. And so, if you look at the FCC statute — Section 326 of our statute says that the commission does not have the power to censor broadcast signals and the commission has generally summarized its own position by saying that we need documentary evidence of a deliberate distortion that would be strong enough to require investigation,” Simington said.

“And in fact, in previous proceedings on this matter, we gave the example of substituting a yes answer to one question or a no answer to an entirely different question,” he said. continued. “So the Commission certainly considered the possibility of reporting distortions through linkage. This is one reason why I do not think this complaint is ridiculous on its face, and it would not be inappropriate for the Commission to interested in it.”

Simington, who was nominated by former President Trump in 2020 and confirmed by the Senate, explained that “the United States is somewhat unique among industrialized democracies” in not having a media regulator with the general power to say what may be said or written. Instead, the United States has the First Amendment which provides broad protections for free speech and freedom of the press.

CBS ’60 MINUTES’ GIVES TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM VP HARRIS TO THE SAME QUESTION

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on the campus of East Carolina University October 13, 2024, in Greenville, North Carolina. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

However, with respect to television, the FCC’s view is that the airwaves are a “public trust” and that any broadcast on these airwaves constitutes an exclusion of other parties from broadcasting over these airwaves on that frequency, from so that the government has a “heightened interest” in the content of the speech” when it occupies airwaves that others cannot.

Simington, who is one of two Republicans among the FCC’s five commissioners, said that “the FCC will never be an arbiter of the truth of seriously presented political speech, even if most Americans believe that it is false”, but if the network licensee goes out of its way to alter the reporting in a way that shows a bad conscience or willful dishonesty, the “breach of public trust” will be examined.

The licensee named in the complaint is WCBS TV in New York, which is not an “affiliate” but is actually owned and operated by CBS Corporation. FCC insiders believe the complaint was filed against WCBS because it is owned by CBS itself, while other CBS affiliates across America may not have been aware of a intentional distortion if this occurs.

“The reason we care about information distortion at the FCC and the reason we are willing to explore this possibility, even conceptually, given the strong First Amendment protections for broadcasters’ speech, is precisely because of this concern that we do not do.” I don’t want the public to be misled,” Simington said.

“I think everyone agrees that deliberately misleading the public is a bad idea. And if there’s a possibility that that’s what happened here, then obviously we should all be upset because people go to the news to learn things they never could have known about themselves,” Simington continued. “In other words, going to the news is an act of trust. But the problem with trust is that once it’s lost, it’s very difficult to regain.”

Essentially, it all depends on whether the licensee – in this case, WCBS TV in New York – participated in or acquiesced in a pattern of misrepresentation. Next, the allegation must be considered substantial and deliberately intended to mislead or distort information.

“And in all of those cases, I don’t think it would be a mistake for the Commission to come to the conclusion that this issue is something that we should look at in more detail,” Simington said.

CBS news in turmoil as multiple controversies erupt at the network

Simington said that if a licensee ordered an interview to be edited in a misleading manner to deliberately promote a particular political candidate, that could potentially exceed the threshold for distortion of information. However, the actions of a dishonest employee would not rise to this level.

“The licensee should have participated in or at least been aware of and acquiesced in this act of distortion. But if that happens, then, well, there is a standard of conduct for holding a license. And if you habitually misrepresent information in public or engage in other inappropriate behavior by a licensee, then you could find yourself in trouble,” he said, such as a fine or conditions when renewal of a license.

CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CBS News has not offered an official explanation or responded to requests to release the unedited video of the Harris interview.

The Center for American Rights describes itself as a “nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the most fundamental constitutional rights of Americans,” according to its website.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP