CBS News boss Bari Weiss leaned on Pete Hegseth’s wife to secure an interview with an American airman rescued in Iran, it has emerged.
The airman, identified only as Bravo, spoke to Norah O’Donnell for Sunday’s season premiere of 60 Minutes, which Weiss has sought to revamp during her tenure at the now Trump-friendly network.
Bravo was one of two airmen rescued in April after their F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran. During the interview, Bravo described how he avoided enemy capture for 48 hours and scaled a mountain to be rescued while suffering from a broken back. He said he survived by living by the “warrior ethos” Hegseth demands of all service members.
The segment—which has faced accusations of being “propaganda”—went ahead after Weiss personally spoke to Jennifer Hegseth to arrange it, sources told Status.
Weiss is said to have a good rapport with Jennifer Hegseth and is seen as instrumental in booking Hegseth to appear on CBS News, even as he largely avoids appearing on other mainstream networks.
“Bari calls her on her cellphone,” a source told Status.
Jennifer Hegseth is said to have an outsized influence within the Pentagon, despite not having any official role in the department. This includes prepping Hegseth for appearances, sitting in on meetings, interviewing potential Pentagon staffers, and even helping brainstorm ideas for Defense Department videos.
There have even been suggestions that Jennifer Hegseth secretly pulls the strings behind her husband and has to keep him straight and narrow, following concerns about the defense secretary’s drinking dating back to his time as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend.
Weiss reportedly leaned on her previously unreported close relationship with Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer, as the White House was concerned about the interview with the airman.
Those close to President Donald Trump were worried the 60 Minutes segment would remind viewers about Trump’s deeply unpopular war on Iran, with the midterms just weeks away.
There was a back-and-forth throughout the summer over whether the rescue segment should air when 60 Minutes returned, Status reported.
CNN had previously reported that Hegseth and other top Pentagon officials were desperate for both rescued Air Force officers to give interviews on 60 Minutes. Both airmen were initially skeptical, with one even raising concerns that he could be ordered to take part in the segment.
Sunday’s program also featured sit-down interviews with Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, and Adm. Brad Cooper.
However, beyond O’Donnell briefly acknowledging that the war in Iran is “deeply unpopular” and has claimed the lives of 18 service members, there were no pressing interviews about the conflict, which has dragged on for nearly seven months.
There was also no mention of the war causing oil and diesel prices to skyrocket in the U.S., exacerbating financial hardships for tens of millions of Americans.
One former senior 60 Minutes staffer told Status that not grilling Hegseth about the status of the war was “negligent” and that the overall segment was “propaganda” for the Pentagon.
“I felt like it was a handshake between Hegseth and CBS,” another former CBS News senior staffer said.
A similar sentiment was expressed by 60 Minutes viewers online.
“I have zero ‘faith’ this bulls--t story is true, especially since it’s being laundered through regime mouthpiece Bari Weiss,” one X user posted.
On Monday morning, O’Donnell told CBS Mornings that it took more than five months to land the airman interview and that Bravo “wanted to tell his story to us so that he could publicly thank his rescuers.”
The Daily Beast has contacted CBS News and the Pentagon for comment.
