A “60 Minutes” report by Bari Weiss about the “horrible treatment” of detainees deported from the United States to an El Salvadoran prison has been leaked online after appearing on a Canadian TV app. Canada’s Global News aired the “60 Minutes” episode without this segment on TV, as did CBS, but the network’s Global TV app mistakenly uploaded the wrong episode to the streaming app.
A 14-minute segment of the video circulated on social media, even though it was removed from CBS News’ schedule about three hours before it aired on Sunday. In this segment, reviewed by Variety, correspondent Sharin Alfonsi interviews a man who was forcibly removed from the United States by the Trump administration and sent to the Center for the Monitoring of Terrorism (CECOT) prison, despite having no criminal record.
“There was blood everywhere, people were screaming, people were crying, they were urinating and vomiting on themselves because they couldn’t take it anymore,” said Luis Muñoz Pinto, a Venezuelan university student who has applied for asylum in the United States. He said he was detained at customs for six months before being deported, awaiting a verdict on his asylum case.
“Four guards grabbed me and beat me until I bled, to the point of agony. They smashed our faces against the wall. That’s when they broke one of my teeth,” Pinto added.
CBS News has not yet commented on the leak.
On Monday morning, the station’s editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, told staff that the report was retracted on Saturday “because it wasn’t ready,” but 60 Minutes correspondents felt it was a “political decision” rather than an “editorial decision.” Weiss proposed “a number of changes to the corner” and hoped to feature an interview with Stephen Miller or another Trump administration official, according to the New York Times. He said the article builds on information the Times has already reported, adding: “We just need to do more.”
Alfonsi said he has already reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, the White House and the State Department for comment. In a leaked email to colleagues at CBS on Sunday, Alfonsi wrote: “Our story has been reviewed five times and cleared by both CBS lawyers and standards and practices. It is factually correct. In my view, retracting it now, after meeting all rigorous internal checks, is a political decision, not an editorial decision.”
The last-minute decision to eliminate the “60 Minutes” segment critical of the Trump administration came after the president repeatedly complained about “unfair treatment” by the David Ellison-owned network. On December 16, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: “To those who consider me close to the new owners of CBS, please understand that since the so-called ‘takeover’ 60 Minutes has treated me far worse than they have ever treated me. If they are my friends, I don’t want to meet them as enemies!” A week earlier, Trump slammed “60 Minutes” for an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling her a “very underprepared traitor” and saying of parent company Paramount, “They’re no better than their old ownership.”
Mr. Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, trying to persuade shareholders to reject a deal agreed to by Netflix and WBD that would have bought Warner Bros. Studio operations and HBO Max. President Trump has previously claimed he would be “involved” in approving M&A transactions, which would require approval from regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice and the FTC.
Earlier this year, Ellison’s Skydance Media acquired Paramount Global in an $8 billion deal. A few months later, Ellison announced a deal reportedly worth $150 million to acquire Weiss’ independent media outlet, the Free Press, and appointed Weiss as editorial director of CBS News. These moves were seen as an attempt by CBS News to improve its position on President Trump and the MAGA movement. Since then, Weiss has co-hosted a town hall with Erika Kirk, CEO of the right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA and widow of Charlie Kirk, and has promised future events with guests such as J.D. Vance and Sam Altman.
