Morning Joe Torches ‘Cosplaying’ Journalist Bari Weiss for ‘Poisoning the Well’ By Spiking 60 Minutes Story

MS NOW’s Morning Joe crew torched CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss for “poisoning the well” of journalism by spiking a 60 Minutes report on the Trump administration’s deportations that had already survived the “living hell” of a “rigorous” editorial screening.

The segment, reported by correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, focused on men deported to El Salvador’s infamous CECOT mega-prison, a maximum-security facility long criticised by human rights groups. Despite the fact the report was promoted publicly on Friday afternoon, the report was pulled from the broadcast schedule less than 24 hours later.

In an internal email leaked late Sunday, Alfonsi blasted Weiss and ripped what she called a “political decision” to drop the segment as “corporate censorship.”

In her own statement Weiss defended the move, insisting it was routine editorial caution.

On Monday’s Morning Joe co-host Jonathan Lemire warned that was “uncommon” about the decision was the “chronology” as he relayed how “the piece was done and ready” and that the issue, according to a CBS spokesperson, stemmed from missing comment from the administration.

“You know, it’s often the administration doesn’t have comment. This is something that was edited and promoted. The fact that video footage aired, that is so unusual that they would then pull this down,” he said.

Host Joe Scarborough then read from Alfonsi’s leaked email which argued the piece was “factually correct” and had cleared standards review five times.

“I’ve been there in those screenings. Personally, I worked there, and they are a living hell,” co-host Mika Brzezinski said.

“It’s rigorous!” several of the co-hosts chimed in.

Brzezinski continued: “The most rigorous, most difficult process, it is an important process. And every frickin’ word, every frame of video is picked apart by editors to make sure it is correct. I mean, that I – they promoted it? I mean, come on.”

“Five times,” Scarborough said.

Morning Joe contibutor Pablo Torre went harder: “Billionaires are compromising the most important journalistic institutions we have left in this country. The game is obvious, and in this case, Bari Weiss, who was, by the way, not a reporter, not a journalist, is cosplaying as one and is poisoning the well of one of the last bastions of investigative reporting that gets funded.”

“And Sharyn Alfonsi is a very good reporter,” Brzezinski replied.

Torre continued: “And Sharyn Alfonsi is writing it down, saying, just for posterity, this is what’s going on.”

Scarborough rounded again: And by the way, Mika said, like Mika has been through the process, if you go through the process of screening these 60 Minutes packages, like it is brutal. I’ve heard stories of people, of reporters rushing out, crying like, like 20-30 years back. It’s brutal and it’s gone through. It went through five – five – scrubbings and screenings, and then they promote it.”

“And then they spike it?” he jeered.

“No!” Brzezinski said.

“Not good,” Lemire responded.

“Not good at all,” Scarborough concluded.

Watch above via MS NOW.