Pelley: Weiss put ‘thumb on the scale’ at CBS News

Bari Weiss interviews Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

(Image credit: Leigh Vogel / Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press)

What happened

Former “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley on Sunday said he hadn’t expected to be fired after criticizing CBS News editorial chief Bari Weiss at a staff meeting last week. But “somebody had to stand up,” he told The New York Times in an interview. She was putting a “thumb on the scale for the president’s version of events that I felt was a level of political influence that I had never seen in 37 years at CBS News.”

After Pelley had gotten final sign-off on a report on ICE’s killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Weiss “sends an email to my boss” asking for some post-deadline changes, including, “Can we make the protesters look more violent?” and “Good’s car — you need to describe her as driving toward the officer,” Pelley said. That is “not what you see on the video,” he said, but it’s “what the president said.” A CBS News spokesperson said Weiss’ suggestions “had no political motivation” and sought to make the piece “strong, fair and accurate.”

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.