The flagship morning programme Morning Joe has launched a scathing attack on CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, accusing her of "cosplaying" as a journalist after she spiked a prepared 60 Minutes segment at the last minute. The decision has triggered an internal crisis at the network, with staff reportedly in revolt.
A Story Pulled at the Eleventh Hour
Just hours before it was scheduled to air on Sunday, 22 December 2025, CBS announced it was pulling a 60 Minutes investigation into El Salvador's notorious CECOT mega-prison. The segment was to detail how the Trump administration had sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants there as part of a mass deportation campaign.
The call was made personally by Weiss over the weekend, a move that immediately prompted fury within CBS News. Sharyn Alfonsi, the lead correspondent on the story, sent a blistering email to colleagues defending the report's integrity and criticising the lack of explanation from Weiss.
"We asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy," Alfonsi wrote. She emphasised that the story had been screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and the network's Standards and Practices unit. "In my view, pulling it now... is not an editorial decision, it is a political one," she concluded.
Weiss Defends Decision as Morning Joe Pounces
Weiss, the "anti-woke" founder of The Free Press who was installed as CBS News' leader by Paramount chair David Ellison in October 2025, defended her action. In a statement and an editorial call, she claimed the segment was pulled because the White House declined to comment when approached.
"We need to be able to make every effort to get the principals on the record and on camera. To me, our viewers come first," Weiss declared on Monday, 23 December.
This justification was swiftly dismantled by the panel on MS NOW's Morning Joe. Host Joe Scarborough highlighted the unusual timing: "This story is promoted on Friday. And then it is spiked on Saturday because the White House decides they’re not going to give a comment."
Co-host Jonathan Lemire called the late cancellation "uncommon," noting that it is routine for administrations to decline comment. "The fact that video footage aired, that is so unusual that they would then pull this down," he stated.
'Cosplaying' a Journalist and 'Poisoning the Well'
The most stinging criticism came from Morning Joe regular Pablo Torre, who questioned Weiss's credentials and motives. Weiss was a newspaper opinion columnist before her surprise appointment to lead CBS News, a role for which she had no prior broadcast journalism experience.
"Billionaires are compromising the most important journalistic institutions we have left in this country," Torre declared. "The game is obvious, and in this case, Bari Weiss, who was, by the way, not a reporter, not a journalist, is cosplaying as one and is poisoning the well of one of the last bastions of investigative reporting that gets funded."
The panel connected the decision to broader political currents, noting it coincided with Donald Trump renewing attacks on 60 Minutes and Paramount chair David Ellison seeking favour with the President amid a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Scarborough and co-anchor Mika Brzezinski defended 60 Minutes' rigorous editorial process, while Torre suggested Alfonsi's email was a deliberate act to create a record of Weiss's "misdeeds." The controversy leaves CBS News grappling with a profound internal clash over editorial independence and political influence.
