Donald Trump's Media Lawsuit Threat 'Entirely Unnecessary'—Legal Analyst

Fox News legal analyst and attorney Jonathan Turley expressed in a blog post on Sunday that former President Donald Trump's threat of a media lawsuit against CBS is "entirely unnecessary" regarding its legal basis and the accountability of the media.

Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School known for often defending Trump, advised the Republican presidential nominee against suing CBS. This commentary follows Trump's criticism of the network during a recent episode of The Dan Bongino Show, where he took issue with a 60 Minutes interview featuring Vice President Kamala Harris, aired on October 7.

In the interview conducted by correspondent Bill Whitaker, Harris addressed her foreign policy views on Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as economic plans and gun ownership regulations. The interview included multiple edits.

Following the airing, Trump's campaign demanded the release of the full transcript, alleging that the broadcast was "deceptively edited." While CBS did publish the transcript of the broadcast interview on the same night, there have been calls for the complete unedited version.

Karoline Leavitt, Trump's campaign press secretary, commented to the New York Post, claiming, "The word salad was deceptively edited to lessen Kamala's idiotic response. Why did 60 Minutes choose not to air Kamala's full word salad, and what else did they choose not to air?"

Leavitt referred to a response from Harris regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which differed from a promotional clip shared by 60 Minutes.

"The American people deserve the full, unedited transcript from Kamala's sit-down interview. We call upon 60 Minutes and CBS to release it. What do they, and Kamala, have to hide?" Leavitt added.

On The Dan Bongino Show, Trump stated, "So I think I'm going to sue them [CBS] actually. I think so. No, you know what? They can't defend it. And if they do, and even if they win, it's going to be very embarrassing."

In his blog post, Turley acknowledged the criticism of media bias, including CBS's, but concluded that any lawsuit would be "legally groundless" and "would fail," emphasizing that media outlets have the right to edit their content.

The day after Harris's interview aired, Trump accused CBS and the Harris campaign of breaching "a major campaign finance regulation," claiming it could tarnish 60 Minutes’ reputation permanently. He wrote on Truth Social, "This is the very definition of FAKE NEWS! The public is owed a MAJOR AND IMMEDIATE APOLOGY!"

However, federal campaign finance regulations do not pertain to editorial decisions made by private news organizations.

On October 15, Trump reiterated his stance, stating that 60 Minutes engaged in "Election Interference and Fraud."

His remarks come amid escalating tensions with 60 Minutes, following his refusal to participate in an interview. CBS correspondent Scott Pelley noted that Trump initially agreed to the sit-down but later backed out.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, clarified to Axios that while discussions occurred, nothing was finalized, as CBS insisted on including fact-checking in the interview.

In his blog post, Turley argued that "bias itself is not generally actionable," and noted instances where Whitaker pressed Harris during the interview. He asserted that "threats of harassing lawsuits destroy any moral high ground for Trump" and that such lawsuits are unnecessary, stating, "There is no lawsuit that could do the damage that the mainstream media is doing to itself."

Turley criticized mainstream media but emphasized the importance of neutral and objective reporting. He lamented that "current reporters and editors are destroying American journalism with their overt bias and hostility," concluding that accountability should come from the public and market forces rather than legal actions.

A recent Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll conducted between October 11 and 13 revealed that 85 percent of voters believe CBS should release the full transcript of the interview. The poll found that 87 percent of Democrats, 88 percent of Republicans, and 80 percent of independents shared this view. The survey included 3,145 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.