Bari Weiss Keeps CBS News Groveling At The Feet Of Donald Trump

Bari Weiss, the little smirking suck-up that is presently editor-in-chief of CBS News, intervened at the last minute Sunday to spike a completed story, titled "Inside CECOT," that was scheduled to air on that evening's edition of 60 Minutes. The story, exposing conditions at El Salvador's hellish Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo prison, had been advertised and promoted by CBS over the preceding days. The story's lead reporter, veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, said Sunday night that the story had been fact-checked, had gone through five internal screenings, and had been cleared by the company's attorneys. Weiss, in a pretty severe and dramatic move, overruled the company's checks and unilaterally determined that the story "needed additional reporting," as communicated by a company spokesperson.

This morning, while mewing her way through a call with CBS News staffers, Weiss explained her rationale. According to several reporters who were fed Weiss's comments pretty much as they were being made, she held up the story for several reasons. By her estimation, the 60 Minutes segment didn't "advance the ball" with new revelations: Weiss pointed out to her employees that The New York Times has also reported on the human-rights abuses occurring at CECOT, which apparently renders any reporting CBS News wants to do on the topic inessential. Weiss also said during the call that the story was lacking because it did not get "the principals on the record and on camera."