CBS News has pulled a “60 Minutes” report about the Trump administration sending detainees to a high-security “mega prison” in El Salvador just hours before it was scheduled to air.
The broadcaster said on Sunday that the episode would be broadcast at a later date, a move that raised questions about why it was postponed at such short notice.
“The broadcast lineup has been updated for tonight’s edition of 60 Minutes,” the show posted on social media just three hours before airtime. “Our ‘Inside CECOT’ report will be broadcast in a future broadcast.”
NBC News has contacted CBS for comment.
In a statement For the New York Times“My job is to make sure all the stories we publish are the best they can be,” said Barry Weiss, editor-in-chief of CBS News.
“Holding stories that are not ready for whatever reason — because they lack sufficient context, for example, or are missing critical voices — happens every day in every newsroom,” she added. “I look forward to airing this important piece when it is ready.”
A preview of the story was released and aired and was available online.
According to those clips, it offered a glimpse of the detainees who were deported from the United States to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Detention Center, or CECOT.
One clip showed reporter Sharyn Alfonsi talking about how these prisoners were “cuffed and paraded in front of the cameras,” saying they endured “four months of hell” in the facility.
The Trump administration sent about 250 Venezuelan men to CECOT in March and accused them of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang. Several of the men and some of their families and lawyers have denied the allegation.
On Monday, the 60 Minutes page promoting the report was removed. Instead, it said: “The page cannot be found. The page may have been removed, its name changed, or it may be temporarily unavailable.”
Alfonsi said the clip was pulled for “political” reasons, according to a private memo sent to CBS colleagues cited by the Times.
The newspaper reported that Alfonsi wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained: “Our story was run five times and was approved by CBS attorneys and the Standards and Practices Authority.”
“This is factually correct,” she said in the memo. “In my view, withdrawing it now, after all rigorous internal scrutiny has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political decision.”
When the newspaper asked for further comment Sunday evening, Alfonsi said: “I refer all questions to Barry Weiss.”
It’s the latest in a series of disputes between CBS and its parent company, the newly formed Paramount Skydance.
Last year, President Donald Trump sued Paramount, accusing 60 Minutes of deceptively editing an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. CBS denied the allegation. Paramount settled Trump’s lawsuit for $16 million.
Skydance chief David Ellison has sought to reshape the news business, appointing Weiss — a television newcomer and a prominent critic of liberal media — as editor-in-chief after acquiring its outlet, The Free Press.
In seeking federal approval to merge with Paramount, Skydance pledged to embrace “diverse viewpoints” and represent the “diverse ideological viewpoints of American viewers.”
Sunday’s decision sparked criticism from some Democrats.
“What is happening to CBS is a terrible embarrassment, and if executives think they can build shareholder value by avoiding press that might discredit the Mad King, they are about to learn a harsh lesson,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. The decision “deserves an explanation immediately. It is a very big deal for a story to be published at the request of the White House.” Written on X.
NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment.
Garrett Hack Contribute.