’60 Minutes’ defends handling of Hunter Biden laptop coverage as it hits Trump for skipping interview

“60 Minutes” defended its coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal while taking a swipe at former President Trump for skipping an interview for its traditional election special. 

CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley addressed the behind-the-scenes drama that unfolded between the network and the Trump campaign leading up to the now-scrapped sit-down. 

Pelley said that the campaign “offered shifting explanations” for its apparent reversal.

“First, it complained that we would fact-check the interview. We fact-check every story,” Pelley said. “Later, Trump said he needed an apology for his interview in 2020. Trump claims correspondent Lesley Stahl said in that interview that Hunter Biden’s controversial laptop came from Russia. She never said that.” 

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Pelley was likely referring to comments Trump told reporters last week when CBS News announced the former president would not be appearing on “60 Minutes.”

“Last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged on the computer. They said the laptop from Hell was from Russia. And I said it wasn’t from Russia, it was from Hunter. And I never got an apology. So, I’m sort of waiting,” Trump said. “I’d love to do ‘60 Minutes.’ I do everything. I mean, I do you right now, right? And you’re tougher than ‘60 Minutes’ frankly. The laptop from Hell was from Hunter. It wasn’t from me … Lesley Stahl, we got into a little bit of an argument on the camera, talking about that and other things. And you know, they really owed me an apology.” 

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Pelley didn’t mention how Stahl dismissed the laptop scandal during her interview with Trump shortly before the 2020 election.

At the time, Trump insisted that then-candidate Joe Biden was “in the midst of a scandal,” referring to reports about the email’s contents showing his involvement in his son’s overseas business dealings.

“He’s not,” Stahl replied. 

“Of course he is, Lesley,” Trump sternly doubled down. 

“No, c’mon,” Stahl continued to reject the president’s claim, before lecturing him, “This is ’60 Minutes’ and we can’t put on things that we can’t verify.”

CBS News eventually went on and verified the infamous laptop in 2022. Numerous other mainstream media outlets dismissed or downplayed the laptop initially before eventually acknowledging its authenticity.

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Pelley also doubled down on CBS News’ assertion that Trump “backed out” of the interview after the Trump campaign insisted it never committed to one. 

“The Trump campaign had told us that the interview would be this past Thursday at Mar-a-Lago. They also asked us whether we would meet 78-year-old Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was grazed in an assassination attempt. We agreed,” Pelley told viewers. “On September 9th, Trump’s Communications Director Steven Cheung sent a text that said, quote, ‘I’m working with our advance team to see logistically if Butler would work in addition to the sit-down.’ ‘Sit-down’ meaning the interview in Florida. Days later, Cheung called to say, quote, ‘The president said yes.’ Then, a week ago, Trump backed out.”

Last week, Cheung denied Trump had ever officially accepted the invitation, posting on X, “There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in.”

Neither CBS News nor the Trump campaign immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.