Bari Weiss Defends Pulling '60 Minutes' Segment on CECOT
Bari Weiss Defends Call to Kill '60 Minutes' Segment Hours Before Air
Published
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss is defending her decision to kill a "60 Minutes" segment hours before its scheduled air time Sunday night ... the report focused on the treatment of Venezuelan deportees from the United States to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison.
The long-running news program was set to run the segment Sunday night, but pulled it hours before airing, and promos online were scrubbed. On an editorial call on Monday, Weiss said the segment "was not ready" to air, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Weiss added the show's producers needed to get on-the-record statements from the the White House, the Dept. of Homeland Security and the State Dept. for it to be ready to go on air. She said ... “While the story presented powerful testimony of torture at CECOT, it did not advance the ball."
"60 Minutes" Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reported the completed segment, and she blasted Weiss' decision in an internal company email Sunday. Alfonsi noted the segment had undergone fact-checking and legal review, was determined to be factually accurate ... and she described Weiss' choice as "political."
She wrote in her memo the show's producers had requested comment from the Trump administration, which didn't respond to inquiries. Alfonsi said their refusal to comment had resulted in a de-facto “veto” of the story.
Sources told CNN the segment's shelving has created discord within 60 Minutes' staff, in fear of the show being "dismantled," with some threatening to leave the company.
