Elon Musk, President Donald Trump’s billionaire ally, on Sunday repeatedly attacked CBS’s “60 Minutes,” suggesting the staff behind the information program deserves a “lengthy jail sentence” for what he described as their efforts to intrude within the 2024 presidential election.
Musk appeared to take subject with a report from Sunday’s episode targeted on what the Trump administration’s strikes on the U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth may imply for the way forward for different authorities businesses.
USAID has been one among Musk’s greatest targets as the top of the so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity.
“60 Minutes” posted a graphic on its account on X, previously known as Twitter, that includes a quote by former USAID administrator Andrew Natsios, a Republican, refuting the Trump administration’s claims that the company must be reformed to chop out huge fraud.
“Probably the most accountable support company on this planet is USAID,” Natsios stated.
Musk, who ignored the present’s request for an interview, replied to the publish, citing a clip of the unedited interview “60 Minutes” correspondent Invoice Whitaker taped with Vice President Kamala Harris within the fall, which is the topic of a lawsuit Trump introduced in opposition to CBS.
“60 Minutes are the most important liars on this planet!” Musk stated. “They engaged in deliberate deception to intrude with the final election. They deserve an extended jail sentence.”
The president himself has previously called for the information program to be “instantly terminated.”
Nonetheless, Paramount, the father or mother firm of CBS, has reportedly been mulling reaching a settlement settlement with Trump within the $10 billion lawsuit he introduced in opposition to the community final yr, accusing “60 Minutes” of deceptively enhancing its interview with Harris. However the Wall Avenue Journal on Friday reported some executives have raised considerations that settling the lawsuit may expose them to authorized threats.
Trump’s lawsuit stemmed from CBS releasing two totally different variations of a query about Israel that Harris answered. The primary aired throughout a preview on the community’s “Face the Nation,” whereas one other was broadcast throughout a full “60 Minutes” episode.
Earlier this month, CBS launched the unedited transcript and the digital camera feeds from the Harris interview following an order by FCC chair Brendan Carr, noting in a statement that the fabric confirmed the “broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.”
“In making these edits, 60 Minutes is at all times guided by the reality and what we imagine might be most informative to the viewing public — all whereas working throughout the constraints of broadcast tv,” the assertion stated.