Barry Weiss uploads a 60 Minutes segment at the last minute

The official line from CBS News is that the segment “needs additional reporting.” Among the issues Weiss raised in the segment: She reportedly objected to the segment’s use of the word “immigrants” to describe Venezuelan citizens who were deported to CECOT because they were in the United States illegally, the New York Times reported. I mentioned.

But what’s even more troubling is that Weiss bent over backwards to give the Trump White House another bite to respond to this segment even though the administration had already declined to comment on “60 Minutes,” according to the New York Times:

One of Ms. Weiss’ suggestions was to include a new interview with Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of Mr. Trump’s anti-immigration campaign, or a similar high-ranking official in the Trump administration, two of the people said. Ms. Weiss provided Mr. Miller’s contact information to the “60 Minutes” staff.

It was this new obstacle imposed by Weiss that particularly angered Alfonsi. “If management’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to publish a story, we have effectively given them a kill switch on any reporting they find uncomfortable,” Alfonsi wrote in her email.

The Trump administration had rare And the level of corrupt involvement in the recent $8 billion sale of CBS parent Paramount. To bypass the Trump-controlled FCC, buyer Skydance agreed to hire an ombudsman, review the network’s content, and scale back DEI initiatives. the Ombudsman It ended up being a conservative think tank with long-standing ties to the Republican Party.

Weiss, widely viewed as being charged with shifting CBS News toward a more management-friendly stance, is in the midst of a major overhaul of the news division.

A revealing pardon in the Abrego Garcia case

A quick summary of developments in the Kelmar Abrego Garcia criminal case:

• Abrego Garcia became the first criminal defendant to cite White House Chief of Staff Susie Wells. acceptance told Vanity Fair that President Trump was engaged in “score-settling.” This came in a file supporting his claim of retaliation prosecution.
• In submission – A a movement To enforce subpoenas for testimony from top Justice Department officials – Abrego Garcia’s lawyers revealed that the judge in his criminal case ruled earlier this month in a still-sealed order that Assistant Deputy Attorney General Akash Singh had a “leading role in the government’s decision to prosecute” Abrego Garcia. They later introduced A Corrected version who redacted the quotation taken from the sealed order.
• The significance of all this comes in the context of the retaliation claim made by Abrego Garcia. The Justice Department attempted to close any investigations into the role of senior Justice Department officials in the decision to prosecute Abrego Garcia, insisting that acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire alone made the decision. But the judge appears to have found that internal Justice Department documents show otherwise, which should bolster Abrego Garcia’s efforts to obtain more documents and testimony to support his retaliation claim.

For a fuller explanation, I wrote about all of this at length over the weekend.

The Justice Department finally appealed the decisions to fire Halligan

In a sign that it may know it has a weak case, Trump’s Justice Department waited until the last minute to appeal the dismissal of indictments against the former FBI director. James Comey The Attorney General of New York Letitia James. Both cases were ordered dismissed when the judge ruled that Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. Attorney was invalid, so the appeals court would consider the appointments.

The latest phase of the Epstein cover-up

Friday’s law-mandated deadline for the Justice Department to turn over the Epstein files to Congress came and went with a new brazen concealment, selective redaction, and disappearing records:

• Despite the deadline, not all of the Epstein files have been released.
• The Justice Department used the same standard to redact the identifying information of Epstein’s victims and applied it to “politically exposed individuals and government officials,” according to Fox News Digital. I mentioned. Deputy District Attorney Todd Blanche later insisted that “there is no redacting of famous people.”
• At least 16 files that were available Friday on the Justice Department’s Epstein web page — including an image showing President Donald Trump — had disappeared by Saturday, AP reports. Blanche said the files were Temporarily removed To redact the names or photos of victims who complained to the Ministry of Justice.

Destruction

• VaccinesIn a fundamental shift, the Trump administration plans to… Stop recommending Most childhood vaccines.
• USAID: Congolese rape survivors Searching in vain For medicines after USAID cuts.
• Smithsonian: The White House doesn’t control the museum’s funding, but it does Threatening to withhold funds In any case, unless the Smithsonian provides extensive additional documentation for a White House-led review of its exhibits and programs.

Destruction: Year-End Edition

And Abu: The year Trump broke the federal government

Cassandra (but in a good way)

New Republic: Americans who saw it all coming, but were ignored and insulted

Quote of the day

“This is an oligarchic, authoritarian takeover of our democracy, yes. But it is fueled by the ideology of white supremacy. These are the seductive messages by which many have been lured to participate in this national betrayal.” — Howard University Law Professor Sherilyn Ifill

Hegseth watch

• Land mines: Hegseth reverse Landmine policy to allow the use of weapons is controversial.
• Chaplain Corps: Hegseth announced an overhaul of the military chaplain corps, with an emphasis on (most likely Christian) spirituality: “Our chaplains are chaplains, not emotional support officers, and we will treat them as such,” Hegseth said in a letter. video. “Faith and virtue have been replaced by self-help and self-care.”
• Strikes in Syria: Hegseth Announce Which American strikes The attack on ISIS targets inside Syria was a “direct response” to the attack December 13 attack Which claimed the lives of three Americans: “This is not the beginning of a war, but rather a declaration of revenge.” Here’s the problem:

In memory

The deaths in film this year were particularly poignant:

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