White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was offered up as the MAGA-friendly solution to green-lighting a controversial 60 Minutes report that was pulled from the air at the last minute.
Bari Weiss, the Trump-curious new editor-in-chief at CBS News, intervened over a contentious story on the Terrorism Confinement Center, the notorious El Salvador megaprison that houses deportees kicked out of the U.S. by President Donald Trump.
Despite being promoted by 60 Minutes, which had interviewed migrants who described the “brutal and torturous conditions” they endured before being released, the segment was removed from Sunday night’s show just three hours before it was due to air.
Weiss had requested multiple changes to the piece, and CBS issued a statement claiming the segment on the Terrorism Confinement Center—better known as CECOT—would be screened at a later date as it “needed additional reporting.”
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Weiss had suggested a 60 Minutes interview with Miller, who is also the Homeland Security Adviser, to balance out the piece on CECOT. She even forwarded Miller’s contact details to the reporting team.
Miller is a vehement proponent of the brutal immigration raids that have been a hallmark of the Trump administration, part of a huge crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Weiss responded to the Times report, saying her job is to ensure that all the stories on 60 Minutes are the best they can be.
“Holding stories that aren’t ready for whatever reason—that they lack sufficient context, say, or that they are missing critical voices—happens every day in every newsroom,“ Weiss, 41, said.
“I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”
However, 60 Minutes veteran Sharyn Alfonsi claimed in an email that Weiss had “spiked” their story, and that when they asked her to discuss the decision, “she did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.”
Alfonsi, 53, said the CECOT story had been screened “five times” and cleared by CBS attorneys.
“It is factually correct,” Alfonsi said in her explosive memo, which was shared in full on X by CNN Media Analyst Brian Stelter. “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 also pointed out that they had already requested responses and/or interviews with the Department of Homeland Security, the White House, and the State Department.
“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO,” Alfonsi said. “Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient.”
Puck journalist Dylan Byers suggested the CECOT segment reflected “very negatively” on the Trump administration. “The admin had declined to comment,” Byers posted on X. “Bari Weiss saw segment on Friday and, I’m told, decided to hold it.”
Weiss took over her role at CBS News in October. One of her first initiatives was to launch a town hall series, which she christened with Erika Kirk, the widow of murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Trump has had a combative relationship with 60 Minutes and CBS. In July this year, Paramount Global paid $16 million to Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle what was originally a $20 billion lawsuit over the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
As part of the result, the two sides also agreed that “in the future, 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns.”
Trump was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell for 60 Minutes in November. Only 28 minutes of the interview were aired on CBS, with a 73-minute extended version published online, as well as a full transcript.
Before Weiss’s intervention on Sunday, Trump had complained about 60 Minutes and CBS on Truth Social last week.
“For those people that think I am close with the new owners of CBS, please understand that 60 Minutes has treated me far worse since the so-called ‘takeover,’ than they have ever treated me before,” he wrote. “If they are friends, I’d hate to see my enemies!”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House, CBS, Weiss, Paramount, and Alfonsi for comment.
