CBS airs ‘60 Minutes’ episode on Trump deportations

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CBS News aired an episode of 60 Minutes on Sunday night about the Trump administration’s deportation of Venezuelan migrants to a notorious El Salvador prison that it had pulled abruptly last month.

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“CBS News leadership has always been committed to airing the ”60 Minutes“ CECOT piece as soon as it was ready,” the broadcaster said in a statement. “Tonight, viewers get to see it, along with other important stories, all of which speak to CBS News’ independence and the power of our storytelling.”

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CBS News chief Bari Weiss made the controversial decision to hold Sharyn Alfonsi’s story, which was originally scheduled to air on Dec. 21, over her concern that there was a lack of response from the Trump administration in the report.

The last-minute scheduling change sparked an internal battle within the news organization, with Alfonsi telling colleagues in a memo circulated by multiple news outlets that CBS pulled the segment due to “political reasons.”

The story was updated to include Trump administration statements, although it has no new on-camera interviews, according to the Associated Press.

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Alfonsi provided additional details about the two Venezuelan migrants that she interviewed about their experiences in the prison.

Though the original segment was pulled from broadcast in the U.S., a version of it was streamed on Global Television via its app before it was eventually taken offline.

— with files from the Associated Press

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