Politics

CBS News Promises To Only Release ‘Unedited’ Interviews Following Kristi Noem Backlash

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CBS News announced on Friday that it is changing its policy on editing interviews with top government officials after the network cut out a portion of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s interview on “Face the Nation.”

Following her Aug. 31 interview, CBS News removed about 26 seconds of Noem’s remarks about alleged MS-13 member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, where she outlined his lengthy criminal past to justify her agency’s efforts to remove him from the U.S. Although CBS News initially stated that the interview was edited to fit its allotted time slot, the network confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that it decided to only broadcast “full [and] unedited” interviews going forward.

“In response to audience feedback over the past week, we have implemented a new policy for greater transparency in our interviews. FACE THE NATION will now only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews (subject to national security or legal restrictions). This extra measure means the television audience will see the full, unedited interview on CBS and we will continue our practice of posting full transcripts and the unedited video online,” CBS News said in a statement.

Noem accused CBS News on Sunday of having “shamefully edited” her interview to “whitewash the truth” about Garcia, an individual whom many Democrats and members of the media have staunchly defended. The DHS secretary referred to Garcia as a “known human smuggler, an MS-13 gang member, an individual who was a wife beater, and someone who was so perverted that he solicited nude photos from minors.”

This morning, I joined CBS to report the facts about Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Instead, CBS shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth about this MS-13 gang member and the threat he poses to American public safety.

Watch for the part of my interview that @CBS tried to… pic.twitter.com/28fsGZug48

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) August 31, 2025

Documents provided by Prince George’s County Police Department detailed Garcia’s alleged gang name and rank, while other legal documents alleged that he smuggled illegal immigrants into the U.S. and that his own wife obtained a restraining order against him for allegedly beating her. Garcia illegally entered the U.S. in 2011 from El Salvador and has since been at the center of a highly contentious deportation case.

CBS News’ change followed their $36 million settlement with President Donald Trump after he accused them of deceptively editing a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to bolster her chances in the 2024 election. As part of the settlement, the network dedicated around $16 million to fund Trump’s future presidential library and agreed to release the written transcripts of future “60 Minutes” interviews with presidential candidates.

The administration facilitated Garcia’s return in June for him to face human smuggling charges. After being released and then immediately taken back into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an Obama-appointed federal judge in Maryland blocked the administration from deporting Garcia on Aug. 26.