CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ Defies Trump Lawsuit with Unflinching Coverage
NEW YORK (AP) — Even with a looming $20 billion lawsuit from former President Donald Trump, CBS’ flagship newsmagazine, ’60 Minutes’, has maintained its critical coverage of the administration. The show has aired several hard-hitting reports since Trump’s inauguration, leading to speculation the network is standing its ground.
Recently, the program highlighted a performance featuring young, non-white musicians who won a contest, granting them the opportunity to perform with the U.S. Marine Corps Band. However, the original concert was canceled due to Trump’s executive order ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The broadcast also explored topics such as the administration’s policies towards Ukraine and tariffs.
Correspondent Scott Pelley has narrated six of the seven stories aired since Trump’s inauguration, including the recent segment on the student musicians. He also scrutinized changes within the Justice Department and reported on the firing of government watchdogs. The show’s reporting has drawn both praise and criticism.
“This may be a lawsuit that is designed to intimidate, but they are clearly making a statement that they will not be intimidated,” said Tom Bettag, a veteran television news producer. Meanwhile, Pelley has become a polarizing figure. Brent Baker, editor of the conservative media watchdog NewsBusters, wrote on X, “Another week, another ‘60 Minutes’ story trying to discredit Trump policies.”
The Lawsuit and the FCC Investigation
Trump’s lawsuit accuses ’60 Minutes’ of election interference. It focuses on the editing of an interview Bill Whitaker conducted with Trump’s 2024 opponent, Kamala Harris, last fall. The suit and a parallel Federal Communications Commission investigation scrutinize how two sound bites, aired on “60 Minutes” and CBS’ “Face the Nation,” presented differing responses from Harris regarding Israel. CBS maintains the discrepancy resulted from standard editing practices, arguing Harris made both comments within her answer to Whitaker.
CBS parent company, Paramount Global, has filed new motions to dismiss both the lawsuit and the FCC probe. However, Shari Redstone, head of Paramount, reportedly desires a settlement. This desire is possibly influenced by Paramount’s prospective merger with Skydance Media, which necessitates approval from the Trump administration.
Many CBS News employees resist settling, asserting ’60 Minutes’ did nothing wrong. Bill Owens, the show’s executive producer, stated last month he wouldn’t apologize as part of any resolution.
“My precious ‘60 Minutes’ is fighting, quite frankly, for our life,” correspondent Lesley Stahl said earlier this month. She was accepting a First Amendment award. The show’s staff appears willing to face the legal challenge.
Bettag stated that the ’60 Minutes’ team is motivated by the importance of the stories: “The ‘60 Minutes’ people are such committed journalists that they’d consider it foolish to be doing these stories because of what is a frivolous lawsuit.” The show has been more aggressive in covering developments within the administration.
Striking Recent Coverage
The show has been unusually assertive in its coverage. Pelley’s report on Ukraine came only days after a White House exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Following Pelley’s story on the quick shutdown of the USAID office, Elon Musk suggested severe penalties for those involved, to which Pelley responded that Musk collects “billions of taxpayer dollars” for his SpaceX company and that Musk cut off assistance to poor families. A Columbia University journalism professor, Bill Grueskin, also lauded the work of other news organizations.
The Concert
Sunday’s program featured a story about students of Black, Hispanic, Indian, or Asian descent who had earned the privilege to perform with the Marine band. CBS worked with Equity Arc to organize a show for the students outside Washington, D.C. Retired members of military bands assisted the students. CBS News paid for the travel and lodging of twenty-two students.
Pelley described it as the “concert that was not meant to be heard.”
“The original Marine Band concert would have been seen by hundreds,” he said. “Here tonight, these musicians are being heard by millions.”
Pelley’s March 9 report, which focused on Trump’s efforts to remove watchdogs in government, quoted the former president saying the firings were standard for a new administration.
“He’s wrong,” Pelley said.
In Pelley’s stories, his delivery did not hide critical observations. In the story about USAID, he noted, “It’s too soon to tell how serious President Trump is in defiance of the Constitution.”
