‘60 Minutes’ to Tackle Trump Pardons in Season Premiere

The 59th season premiere of 60 Minutes will dedicate a segment to Donald Trump’s controversial use of the presidential pardon.

The segment is the third and final segment to be revealed from the premiere episode, following Jon Wertheim’s profile of the Los Angeles Rams and coach Sean McVay, and Norah O’Donnell’s exclusive interview with the U.S. pilot who was shot down and rescued in Iran.

But it is Lesley Stahl’s segment, “The Pardon Economy,” that may end up raising the most eyebrows.

“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,” the description states. “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.”

60 Minutes is in flux. New executive producer Nick Bilton is working with returning correspondents Stahl, Bill Whitaker, Wertheim and O’Donnell, as well as a handful of new hires, to try and get the season off the ground following an exodus of talent, both voluntary departures and forced ones.

Former CBS News chief Wendy McMahon predicted that the season premiere will be a “banger” this week, betting that the show will put its best foot forward to try and set the tone, but that “shows three, four, and five could get quite interesting, I think.”

Any segment targeting Trump, who sued CBS over a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, is sure to attract extra scrutiny.

While the first show will be familiar, Bilton is expected to change things over time, with hidden camera investigations, and perhaps end-of show segments featuring commentary or debate, all cited as potential additions.

For now, however, the show is leaning on the familiar: Stahl, O’Donnell and Wertheim are all veterans of the program. The new faces and other changes will wait until future episodes.