The MeidasTouch Podcast
Episode: Trump Shuts Down CBS over Story he Feared
Date: December 22, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Overview
This episode centers on the explosive decision by CBS and its flagship newsroom 60 Minutes to pull a hard-hitting story about the Trump administration’s involvement in the deportation of Venezuelan men to a notorious El Salvadorian prison, under pressure from the Trump regime. Brett Meiselas leads a thorough, passionate discussion of why this represents a grave surrender of journalistic independence and how it highlights the growing need for independent news outlets. The brothers provide detailed background on CBS’s recent corporate turmoil, the background of the 60 Minutes segment, and broader concerns about the entanglement of media, government, and political power. The episode uses direct quotes from internal CBS communications, FCC hearings, and Trump’s public comments to illuminate this critical moment for American journalism and democracy.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. CBS Capitulates to the Trump Regime
[00:29–02:50]
- Brett recounts how CBS killed a major 60 Minutes report only hours before it was to air, after promoting it widely.
- The spiked segment investigated the Trump administration’s deportations that delivered Venezuelan men into the “Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo” (CECAT), a prison in El Salvador infamous for torture and abuse.
- CBS’s editor’s note stated: “Our report…will air in a future broadcast.” Skepticism is voiced as to whether it will ever truly air.
Notable Quote:
“CBS is done. CBS is dead. CBS is gone. It has utterly been taken over by the gangster Trump regime.”
— Brett [00:48]
2. Details of the 60 Minutes Story
[01:44–02:54]
- Promo for the censored segment described victims being “shackled and paraded before cameras” and recounted first-person horror stories of torture and disappearance.
- Brett and the brothers stress the US’s complicity in crimes against humanity.
3. Trump and MAGA Pressure on CBS
[03:15–04:12]
- CBS faced significant pressure from Trump and MAGA figures, including demands for apologies and claims of media bias.
- Recounts a back-and-forth following Marjorie Taylor Greene’s December 5 interview on 60 Minutes, in which she dramatically denounced MAGA:
“This MAGA movement is dead, that they're liars. And then Donald Trump responded, demanding that CBS provide an apology.”
— Brett [03:57] - Trump repeatedly uses Truth Social and speeches to denounce 60 Minutes, demanding deference and corrective action.
Notable Quote:
“The only reason Marjorie Trader Brown [Greene] went bad is that she was jilted. … I hereby demand a complete and total apology…for her incorrect and libelous statements about Hunter Laptop.”
— Quoting Trump [04:14]
4. CBS Leadership Turmoil & Paramount Deal
[04:50–06:10]
- Multiple high-profile resignations (Bill Owens, Wendy McMahon) occurred after complaints of lost journalistic independence.
- Paramount, CBS’s parent, required the Trump-controlled FCC’s approval to merge with Skydance. CBS and Paramount paid $16 million to settle a Trump lawsuit over editing a Kamala Harris interview.
- Brett explains how these events set the stage for editorial capture by Trump loyalists, culminating in the spiking of the El Salvador story.
Notable Quote:
“You were supposed to do what Trump wants you to do. Why'd you go and show what Marjorie Taylor Greene did? And Trump's been relentless about that.”
— Brett [06:57]
5. Internal CBS Leak: Sharon Alfonsi’s Letter
[07:56–09:13, 11:47–12:52]
- 60 Minutes correspondent Sharon Alfonsi’s internal email is read, stating unequivocally that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss spiked the story for political—not editorial—reasons.
- Alfonsi reveals that CBS’s legal and standards teams had signed off multiple times; the administration’s refusal to comment was used as a pretext to kill the story.
Notable Quote:
“Pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision. It is a political one.”
— Sharon Alfonsi [11:57]
- Alfonsi warns:
“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...” [12:15]
6. Bari Weiss and the New Regime at CBS
[13:58–14:15, 18:34–19:14]
- Brett accuses Bari Weiss of being a direct tool of the Trump regime and alleges she was installed to remake CBS as a right-wing outlet.
- Notes her longstanding rivalry with The MeidasTouch Network for top rankings on Substack.
- Urges listeners to support MeidasTouch and independent journalism.
7. FCC Admission: No More Independence
[14:26–17:27]
- Audio played from a Senate hearing, where FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr admits the FCC is “not an independent agency.”
- Senator Amy Klobuchar and others grill Carr about government/media entanglement and the pressures to censor or punish outlets critical of Trump.
- Carr is also confronted about threats made towards comedians engaging in political satire and about uneven enforcement of investigations against non-Fox networks.
Notable Quotes:
“The FCC is not an independent agency.”
— Brendan Carr [14:54]
“Is your website lying?”
— Interviewer [14:56]
“Possibly.” — Carr [14:57]
8. Personal Stories from Seacat: Human Rights Watch
[19:26–20:32]
-
Brett shares stories from the Human Rights Watch report being censored by CBS.
-
Details brutal treatment:
“The nightmare began the moment they took me off the plane.... Officers forced [us] to kneel…one officer struck [me] with a baton..."
— quoting testimony from Gonzalo Y., Venezuelan deportee -
Emphasizes the catastrophic human cost and the US’s active role in these abuses.
9. Call to Action for Independent Media
[21:20–22:17, 22:50–23:46]
- Brett closes by urging listeners to support independent media, underscoring their role as a last line of defense for democracy against corporate capitulation:
“One of the things I’m most proud about is…this community helping grow this network…for corporate news anchors who are fed up to leave and start their own independent news…so we can build this network of pro-democracy independent media voices together to stand up against these right-wing oligarchs. But we’re under attack each and every day.”
- The show closes with a “thank you” to the audience and a commitment to keep fighting for truth.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “CBS is done. CBS is dead. CBS is gone. It has utterly been taken over by the gangster Trump regime.” — Brett [00:48]
- “Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct in my view. Pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision. It is a political one.” — Sharon Alfonsi (reading her internal email) [11:57]
- “If the standard for airing a story becomes, quote, the government must agree to be interviewed, then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.” — Sharon Alfonsi [12:17]
- “The FCC is not an independent agency.” — Brendan Carr, FCC Commissioner [14:54]
- “So is your website lying?” — Interviewer [14:56]
- “Possibly.” — Carr [14:57]
- “We are trading in 50 years of gold standard reputation for a single week of political quiet.” — Sharon Alfonsi [12:28]
- “Could you imagine if there wasn’t independent media right now?” — Brett [21:20]
Important Timestamps
- [00:29] — Brett’s impassioned critique of CBS’s surrender
- [03:15–04:14] — Trump’s statements and CBS’s response
- [04:50–06:10] — Recap of CBS corporate and legal drama; resignations
- [07:56–09:13, 11:47–12:52] — Sharon Alfonsi’s internal email/whistleblowing segment
- [14:26–17:27] — FCC hearing; independence questioned; threats against critical satire/documentation of selective enforcement
- [19:26–20:32] — Human Rights Watch testimony from Venezuelan victim
- [21:20–23:46] — Closing call to action; celebration of independent media
Tone and Language
- Passionate, urgent, unapologetically pro-democracy and anti-Trump.
- Frequently combative towards corporate media and Trump loyalists.
- Framed as a call-to-arms for supporters of independent journalism.
Summary Takeaway
This episode delivers a comprehensive, forceful warning about the ease with which powerful interests can derail investigative journalism—particularly when major networks become entangled with government regulators and political figures. The Meiselas brothers reveal the behind-the-scenes pressure, internal resistance, and tragic human costs of the buried 60 Minutes story, using detailed documentation, internal leaks, and firsthand testimony. Their ultimate rallying cry: only a robust ecosystem of independent, pro-democracy media can keep power accountable and give voice to the voiceless in the face of creeping authoritarian control.