CBS News' Bari Weiss has sparked backlash after scrapping a segment from its flagship Sunday broadcast about the deportation of Venezuelan men. The BBC has reported that Bari Weiss, the top editor, has been subjected to scrutiny after his last-minute decision to pull the segment about the Trump administration's latest moves. The CBS correspondent who reported the story, Sharyn Alfonsi, also slammed Weiss, telling colleagues that the move was "political," per a private memo that has since been leaked. Bari Weiss, however, has since defended his decision in a statement. According to Variety, he said in a memo: The recent decision making “may seem radical,” and “Such editorial decisions can cause a firestorm, particularly on a slow news week. And the standards for fairness we are holding ourselves to, particularly on contentious subjects, will surely feel controversial to those used to doing things one way. But to fulfill our mission, it’s necessary.” The drama involving Bari Weiss, CBS News, and Sharyn Alfonsi explored: Bari Weiss, President Tom Cibrowski, and Charles Forelle and Adam Rubenstein, both of whom are new senior editors for CBS, issued the memo before the start of Christmas Eve, Variety has reported. In it, they insisted that their decision was taken “to make sure it is comprehensive and fair.” “Right now, the majority of Americans say they do not trust the press. It isn’t because they’re crazy,” the memo read. “To win back their trust, we have to work hard. Sometimes that means doing more legwork. Sometimes it means telling unexpected stories. Sometimes it means training our attention on topics that have been overlooked or misconstrued. And sometimes it means holding a piece about an important subject to make sure it is comprehensive and fair.”In her private memo, Alfonsi said: "In my view, pulling it now after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. "Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a 'kill switch' for any reporting they find inconvenient." She continued, “The public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship." According to Variety, since Bari Weiss arrived in October, she has insisted that mainstream media has lost out on Americans’ trust. However, she has not presented evidence for the same. In one poll done by Gallup, it was found that only 28% of Americans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media. This figure has come down from 31% in 2025 and 40% five years ago. A September finding from the Pew Research Center discovered that CBS News is backed by 51% of U.S. adults, which is on par with CNN and PBS. ABC News and NBC News are just a few points ahead, the outlet states. PBS has reported that Barri Weiss took issue with Alfonsi's memo. Speaking at the daily CBS News internal editorial call on Monday, she said: "The only newsroom I'm interested in running is one in which we are able to have contentious disagreements about the thorniest editorial matters with respect and, crucially, where we assume the best intent of our colleagues. Anything else is completely unacceptable." Bari Weiss also noted that while Alfonsi's piece offered poignant testimony about the status quo at the CECOT prison, The New York Times and several other outlets had already done similar work. "To run a story on this subject two months later, we need to do more," she said. "And this is '60 Minutes.' We need to be able to get the principals on the record and on camera." Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.