"You try to rescue them from their awkward situation by asking them easier and easier questions to string out the interview long enough to avoid compounding the embarrassment"

You must be a nice guy Pluiméir. I get the feeling with the journalist involved in that kind of work are not supposed to be too nice guys. I doubt if it would be those kind of feelings that would be operating if they decided to pull their punches.

A mlore likely reason would be that they might be worried that, if they were seem as the guys who humiliated the President it might get them into various kinds of trouble back at the ofice, or in their future ability to do the job. ("Guys" denotes women as well as men here.)