New details are shedding light on Bari Weiss’ contentious eleventh-hour decision to hold a 60 Minutes report on Sunday.
Weiss, the controversial new editor-in-chief of CBS News, brought the credibility of the network’s flagship program into question after pulling a segment that detailed the grisly conditions at an El Salvador megaprison where Venezuelan men deported by Donald Trump were held.
While Weiss claimed the segment was held for additional reporting, sources inside CBS News say her decision was driven by mounting pressure tied to Trump himself.
CNN reported that Weiss inserted herself into the 60 Minutes production process after the program drew criticism from Trump, who soured on the show following an appearance earlier this month by his ally-turned-foe Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Trump slammed the program for hosting the outgoing GOP congresswoman, writing in a Truth Social post on Dec. 8 that his “real problem” was that “ the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air.”
“[Then,] Bari Weiss got personally involved,” a 60 Minutes source told CNN.
Weiss, who founded the conservative-leaning outlet The Free Press, reportedly screened the segment for the first time last Thursday and initially approved it, sources said. Staffers said she offered feedback but signed off on the episode, as well as on social media promotion and listings. In total, the story was reportedly screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and the Standards and Practices department.
The following day, Trump took aim at Weiss’ boss—Trump ally David Ellison—and 60 Minutes during a rally in North Carolina.
”I love the new owners of CBS,” Trump said at the Friday rally, referring to Ellison, the son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, who rose to power after the Federal Communications Commission greenlit the $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance Media in July.
“Something happens to them, though. ‘60 Minutes’ has treated me worse under the new ownership… they just keep hitting me, it’s crazy.”
Trump’s criticisms came as Ellison is making a play against Netflix to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, a company that owns Hollywood studios, CNN, HBO, HGTV, and a vast movie and TV back catalog.
He’s argued to shareholders that his deal will be approved by government regulators more easily, a coded reference to his family’s Trump ties, and said on CNBC earlier this month that he is “incredibly grateful for the relationship that I have with the president.”
Many inside CBS viewed Weiss’ appointment itself as an effort to appease the White House, especially given her lack of experience in investigative journalism and broadcast news.
On Saturday morning, hours after Trump’s comments, Weiss messaged 60 Minutes executive producer Tanya Simon with a new list of concerns about the segment, two CBS sources told CNN. The former New York Times columnist flagged the lack of a response from the president’s team and objected to the use of the term “migrant detainees” to describe the men held at the prison.
Weiss then suggested booking Stephen Miller—the architect of Trump’s deportation policy—to balance the segment and even forwarded his contact information to the reporting team, The New York Times reported.
Still, Weiss ultimately spiked the story in a highly unusual move and ignored staffers’ requests to discuss the decision. The cancellation was confirmed on Sunday, just hours before the segment was scheduled to air.
Sharyn Alfonsi, the veteran 60 Minutes correspondent who reported the story, rejected Weiss’ explanation in a message to colleagues, calling the move political.
“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” she wrote. “It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now—after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”
Alfonsi added that requests for comment on the piece had been sent to the Department of Homeland Security, the White House and the State Department. These went unanswered, with the lack of response received as “a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.”
An exasperated Weiss reportedly doubled down on her defense that the report “wasn’t ready” during an editorial call Monday morning.
“The story presented very powerful testimony of abuse at CECOT, but that story has already been reported on by places like The Times,” Weiss said. “The public already knows Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment in this prison,” she added, alleging that the team needed to “do more.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to CBS for comment.
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