Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly “played an unusually hands-on role” in helping to orchestrate an interview between a U.S. Air Force member shot down over Iran and 60 Minutes, according to a report.
CNN reported Hegseth and “two political appointees” pushed the airman and his pilot, who both apparently had reservations about speaking with the program’s journalists, to participate.
The network made clear Hegseth “met privately with [the airmen] and asked whether they wanted to participate rather than forcing their cooperation,” citing sources.
One ultimately agreed to speak to the program on-camera for its season premiere Sunday, while the other declined, according to the network.
The crew members were not publicly identified by the outlet and CNN could not reach them for comment.
A Pentagon spokesman vehemently denied the report.
“This entire story is a complete lie,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told CNN.
“The decision to participate in the interview was each pilot’s alone — because it is their story,” Parnell told the outlet. “As CNN notes, one pilot decided to participate and one did not. Additionally, the Department took great care to ensure operational security, sources, and methods were protected. To suggest otherwise is to denigrate every member of our military who participated in and supported the interview.”
While both men ejected, the pilot was recovered within hours while his co-pilot was not immediately found.
The interview will mark the first time the Air Force officer — who was injured and alone behind enemy lines for two days after ejecting from a fighter jet over Iran in April — publicly tells his story and comes amid months of turmoil at 60 Minutes.
CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss played a key role in securing the interview, CNN reported:
The lobbying effort went all the way to the top. Soon after the rescue, CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss told journalists in her newsroom that the bookings of the crew members were “top priorities,” and she personally lobbied Hegseth to give CBS exclusive access, three sources at the network said. Weiss also reached out to other Trump administration officials.
The officer is expected to sit down with correspondent Norah O’Donnell.
CBS News declined to comment to CNN.
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to Mediaite’s request for comment.
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