The segment, reported by Sharyn Alfonsi, was supposed to air on 21 December but was pulled by editor in chief Bari Weiss
Nearly a month after CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss ignited controversy by shelving a 60 Minutes segment about Venezuelan prisoners, telling staffers that it needed more reporting, the piece finally aired on Sunday night.
Weiss had originally instructed 60 Minutes to hold the segment about the Cecot prison in El Salvador, which had already been scheduled, in part because it lacked “the administration’s argument”.
Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent who reported the segment, had described Weiss’ decision as “political” in a leaked email to colleagues, and noted that the Trump administration had declined to make officials available for interview.
But the tweaked version that aired on Sunday, which included a few minutes of new material, still did not have an on-camera comment from an administration official. “Since November, 60 Minutes has made several attempts to interview key Trump administration officials, on camera, about our story,” Alfonsi told viewers. “They declined our request.”
