Exclusive: Inside Hegseth’s push to showcase a dramatic Iran rescue on ‘60 Minutes’
CBS says the segment follows a months-long effort for exclusive access as one airman agreed to appear and the other declined.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and political appointees pressured two F-15 crew members shot down over Iran to participate in Sunday's '60 Minutes' report about their rescue operation.
- CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss personally lobbied Hegseth for exclusive access soon after the rescue, telling her newsroom the bookings were 'top priorities' as the network sought impactful reports.
- Military officials voiced concerns that the presentation risked disclosing classified rescue tactics, while uniformed service members suggested the Defense Department was using the mission for political purposes.
- After Hegseth met privately with the airmen, one pilot dubbed 'Bravo' agreed to the interview while the other, 'Alpha,' declined; Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell stated each pilot's decision was their own.
- Hegseth granted a rare interview for the broadcast airing Sunday, as the segment provides an inside story of the rescue amid pressure on the Secretary to craft a narrative around the unpopular Iran war.
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(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hong Jeong-gyu = The officer involved in the 'F-15 Officer Rescue Operation,' considered one of the dramatic scenes of the U.S.-Iran war, ...
Pentagon rages as Pete Hegseth's pressure campaign on rescued airmen exposed: report
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ignored concerns about leaking classified information by pressuring airmen to do a '60 Minutes' interview, CNN reported.According to a Saturday article, Hegseth and political appointees in his department pressured two crew members of an F-15 to take part in a '60 Minut...
Inside Hegseth’s push to showcase a dramatic Iran rescue on ‘60 Minutes’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and political appointees in his office pushed for the two crew members of an F-15 who were shot down over Iran in April to participate in Sunday’s highly-publicized “60 Minutes” report about the ensuing rescue operation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
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