The fear of new editorial control at “60 Minutes” — giving in to Donald Trump.
But this Sunday the show’s most tenured correspondent, Lesley Stahl, looks like she’s taking Trump.
The middle segment on Sunday is called “The Pardon Economy.”
The descriiption: “Presidents have pardoned criminals since the time of George Washington. It’s a constitutional power that has been controversial from the start—but perhaps never more so than during the Trump presidency. Lesley Stahl and 60 MINUTES investigate the world of lawyers and lobbyists who have created a new pardon economy. Shachar Bar-On and Michael Kaplan are the producers.”
So will Stahl get to the bottom of the 194 pardons and 37 commutations Trump has doled out so far in his second term? There are dozens of criminals involved, each story more alarming than the last. Most of them have the appearance of patronage — donations, gifts, etc in exchange for freedom.
Stahl has taken on a tall order. If the piece is the least bit lacking, “60 Minutes” will be accused of spinning for Trump. If it’s like a real “60 Minutes” investigation, Trump should be squawking before it’s over.
