CBS News took a major hit to its credibility on Sunday night after it pulled a “60 Minutes” story on El Salvador’s CECOT prison just hours before its scheduled Sunday broadcast, leaving staffers in shock.
“The broadcast lineup for tonight’s edition of 60 Minutes has been updated,” the program posted on social media. “Our report ‘Inside CECOT’ will air in a future broadcast,” the program posted on X.
A CBS News spokesperson said the segment “needed additional reporting.”
The story featured interviews with Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration who are now at a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
The New York Times obtained a copy of a letter sent by Sharyn Alfonsi, a correspondent who reported the segment, saying CBS pulled the segment for “political” reasons.
“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Alfonsi 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.”
CNN reported late Sunday that the decision by Bari Weiss to pull the story has left staffers in shock, with some threatening to quit and questioning the future of the long-running program.
According to the CNN report, Weiss was concerned by the lack of a response from the Trump administration to the reporting.
“My job is to make sure that all stories we publish are the best they can be,” Weiss said in a statement to the New York Times. “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. I look forward to airing this important piece when it’s ready.”
Late last year, President Donald Trump sued CBS and its parent company, Paramount, alleging “60 Minutes” deceptively edited a Kamala Harris interview to benefit her campaign.
The lawsuit affected Paramount’s attempt to merge with Skydance Media, a production company led by David Ellison and supported by Ellison’s father, Larry, who is a supporter of Trump.
“I love the new owners of CBS,” Trump said at a rally on Friday. “Something happens to them, though. ‘60 Minutes’ has treated me worse under the new ownership than… they just keep treating me, they just keep hitting me, it’s crazy.”
