‘60 Minutes’ Segment Pulled By CBS News Chief Bari Weiss Surfaces Online

The 60 Minutes segment that was pulled by CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss appeared across social media on Monday afternoon, after a Canadian outlet had reportedly posted it online.

The segment features interviews with Venezuelan deportees who were sent by the Trump administration to the harsh CECOT prison in El Salvador. According to the Globe and Mail, Global TV had featured the segment on their app before it was taken down, apparently appearing by mistake. The outlet airs 60 Minutes in Canada.

Among those featured in the segment is Luis Munoz Pinto, who described being beaten and sexually assaulted. He said that he was detained by customs officers as he was awaiting asylum proceedings, but had no criminal record.

The segment does not feature any sit down with any Trump administration official, but it does feature a clip of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defending the practice. “These are heinous murderers. Rapists. Murderers. Kidnappers. Sexual assaulters. Predators who have no right tobe in this country and they must be held accountable.”

The report cited statistics gathered by Human Rights Watch that nearly half of those the U.S. sent to the prison had no criminal history. In the segment, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi said that 60 Minutes reviewed the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement data and it “confirms the findings of Human Rights Watch.” Alfonsi said that the Department of Homeland Security “declined our request for an interview” and referred questions about the prison to the government of El Salvador, which did not respond.

Just hours before 60 Minutes was to air, CBS News announced that the segment was being pulled but would appear at a future date.

Alfonsi later sent an email to staffers objecting to the decision to pull it, saying that it was not an editorial move but a “political” one and amounted to corporate interference.

In a call with staffers on Monday morning, Weiss said that while the story “presented powerful testimony of torture at CECOT,” it did not advance the topic, noting that the New York Times and other outlets have done similar work. “The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment at this prison. To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more. And this is 60 Minutes. We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera,” she said. According to The new York Times, Weiss suggested that they interview Stephen Miller, the architect of the Trump administration deportation policy, and provided contact information to the 60 Minutes staff.

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. CBS News also has not commented on the appearance of the segment online.

Now that the segment is out there, any changes made to the broadcast will be matched up to the new one. With FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and others criticizing the decision to pull the segment, if a new version does air it will likely get heavy before-and-after scrutiny.