’60 Minutes’ Unleashes Scathing Attack on Trump
CBS Hits Trump with Blistering Criticism; Scott Pelley Calls Him ‘First Felon in the Oval Office’
CBS’s “60 Minutes” aired a hard-hitting segment on Sunday that sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s use of executive orders to target law firms critical of his administration.
The explosive report, which ran during the final minutes of the show, saw host Scott Pelley referring to Trump as the “first felon in the Oval Office,” further stoking the ongoing legal and political tensions between the president and the network.
The show began by focusing on Trump’s executive orders, which targeted law firms like Perkins Coie. These orders, according to former Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias, were an “assault on the entire legal profession.”
Elias, who has represented Democratic causes, compared Trump’s tactics to those of a mob boss intimidating a neighborhood, suggesting that law firms faced threats if they did not align with the administration.
Elias’s criticism was echoed by other legal experts, including John Keker, a prominent attorney from San Francisco.
Keker accused Trump of bribery, arguing that the president’s offer of legal work in exchange for favorable treatment amounted to a violation of bribery laws.
He warned that when the judicial system becomes too fearful to challenge the executive branch, it risks descending into an authoritarian regime.
In addition to the legal challenges Trump has faced, several law firms have fought back, filing lawsuits against the Trump administration. However, others have chosen to settle.
In exchange for providing legal services to support Trump’s initiatives, these firms have agreed to work for the administration without charge.
This has brought Trump’s legal war chest close to $1 billion, further fueling accusations of improper influence, according to the Daily Mail.
One of the most significant agreements came from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, one of the largest law firms in the world.
Despite internal dissent, the firm agreed to work with Trump, a move that led to the resignation of lawyer Brenna Frey. Frey expressed concerns that the firm was implicitly endorsing Trump’s actions by agreeing to work with his administration.
The “60 Minutes” segment also shed light on the broader implications of Trump’s actions.
Elias and others suggested that the administration’s influence over law firms would discourage them from taking on certain clients or cases that might anger the president.
This, they argued, would undermine the integrity of the legal profession and pose a threat to the system of checks and balances.
The episode aired amid ongoing internal struggles at CBS, where “60 Minutes” staff have been vocal about increased corporate oversight.
Last week, Pelley revealed that longtime executive producer Bill Owens had resigned in protest of what he saw as increasing corporate interference in editorial decisions, as covered by TTOA.
Owens’s resignation came after Paramount executives allegedly attempted to influence the network’s coverage of Trump and other politically sensitive issues.
Pelley expressed his dissatisfaction with the corporate pressures, emphasizing that “60 Minutes” had always prided itself on journalistic independence.
He argued that Owens’s departure was a loss for the show’s integrity, noting that despite corporate pressures, “60 Minutes” would continue to pursue important stories, regardless of the political climate.
As the tension between Trump, CBS and Paramount continues to escalate, the network’s decision to air the segment reflects the broader battle between media outlets and political power, as highlighted by the Daily Mail.
With both legal and corporate interests at stake, the future of independent journalism remains uncertain as corporate influence over news coverage grows.
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