CBS lawsuit/Torture Report/Chinese espionage

The CLASSIFIED Spycraft Brief 11/1/24

It's November 1st. A brand new month, and the world is still on fire. The U.S. election is coming up on Tuesday. We're don't usually focus on mainstream news, but we'll include some U.S. politics every day until the election is decided. Let's get into today's CLASSIFIED Spycraft Brief:

• In October 2024, CBS's "60 Minutes" faced criticism for editing Vice President Kamala Harris's interview, leading to allegations of deceptive practices. The controversy centered on two versions of Harris's response to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Original Response (Aired on "Face the Nation" Preview): "Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region."

Edited Response (Aired on "60 Minutes"): "We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end."

Subsequently, former President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS News, alleging "deceptive doctoring" of Harris's interview to influence the 2024 Presidential election. CBS has denied these allegations, citing First Amendment protections.

However, many of you may be unaware of the deceptive edited they have since engaged in, cutting out a critical part of an answer given by House Speaker Mike Johnson:

• The United Nations has reported that Russian forces have systematically tortured Ukrainian prisoners in detention facilities across all occupied areas of Ukraine, as well as within Russia. According to the UN Human Rights Council, these abuses include psychological, physical, and sexual torture, with investigators noting that the consistency of methods across different locations suggests an intentional, organized system. The UN's findings indicate that similar groups were targeted for similar purposes in each location, further evidencing a coordinated approach. Additionally, the report highlights the frequent targeting of civilian areas by Russian forces and widespread incidents of sexual abuse in occupied regions, intensifying international concern over alleged war crimes.