DHS warned CBS of migrant's asylum claim weeks before segment

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 30 Oct, 23:09 · Archive

DHS emailed CBS weeks before a '60 Minutes' segment aired, revealing that deported Malian national Moussa Diawara had claimed to be gay on his asylum application.

DHS emailed CBS News on 6 October, nearly three weeks before a '60 Minutes' segment aired, informing the network that deported Malian national Moussa Diawara had claimed to be gay on his 2009 asylum application. The application stated that Diawara feared persecution if returned to Mali because of his sexual orientation.

The '60 Minutes' segment, which aired on Sunday and was anchored by Gianna Toboni and produced by Andy Court, instead reported that a US judge ruled in 2012 that Diawara could not be deported because he had converted to Christianity eight months earlier. The segment did not mention Diawara's claim about his sexuality. According to the New York Post, a CBS source said the segment intentionally left out the gay claim to 'protect him'. The Post also reported that Court made a deal with Diawara's lawyer not to mention the gay claim and did not inform higher-ups at the show or network.

CBS Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and '60 Minutes' executive Nick Bilton were not briefed on the gay claim before the segment aired, according to sources cited by the New York Post. They 'went ballistic' when they learned about it from DHS's post on social media after the broadcast aired. The Post reported that the network is weighing disciplinary action or dismissal for Court, a 28-year veteran producer.

How it is being reported

• Bari Weiss and ‘60 Minutes’ boss weren’t briefed on deportee’s ‘gay’ asylum claim ahead of controversial segment: sourcesWeiss and Bilton "went ballistic" when they learned from the Department of Homeland Security's post on X on late Sunday that "60 Minutes" producers ignored information that Moussa Diawara appeared to have fraudulently claimed he was gay on immigration documents, the person said.New York Post · 30 Oct, 22:52
• DHS told '60 Minutes' weeks before segment aired that deported Malian national had once claimed to be gayFox News Digital confirmed DHS emailed CBS News weeks before "60 Minutes" aired, revealing Moussa Diawara claimed to be gay on his asylum form.Fox News · 29 Oct, 14:26

In this story: Moussa Diawara · Bari Weiss · Nick Bilton · Andy Court · CBS News · 60 Minutes · Department of Homeland Security · Mali

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log