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U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Wednesday that there was "no evidence" a political appointee was involved in the IRS' targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. In his first network broadcast interview since taking office in February, Lew told "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley that an investigation has shown "there has been no evidence of any political decision making in the IRS." Asked whether any political appointee had oversight of the decisions that were made around the tea party applications, Lew said, "There has been no evidence of anyone in a political position having been involved in any...

A key to success in business is knowing your competition. CBS Evening News host Scott Pelley apparently doesn't subscribe to this doctrine, for in an interview with Deadline Hollywood published Saturday, Pelley claimed that Fox News only has 200,000 to 300,000 viewers: DEADLINE: So for you, other outlets especially the cable news networks do center on just one segment of the political spectrum in their reporting? PELLEY: Certainly. It’s no surprise. Fox is associated with the right and MSNBC is associated with the left and they’ve done that because it is a business model. It’s a strategy. They’ve decided to...

CBS Anchor: 'We Are Getting Big Stories Wrong, Over and Over Again' "Our house is on fire." Daniel Halper May 11, 2013 12:09 PM CBS anchor Scott Pelley said at a speech at Quinnipiac University that journalists "are getting big stories wrong, over and over again." "Our house is on fire," said Pelley. The video of Pelley's speech is courtesy of nowthisnews.com. "These have been a bad few months for journalism," he added. "We're getting the big stories wrong, over and over again." The CBS newsreader was quick to take at least partial blame. "Let me take the first arrow:...

uring CBS's special coverage of the papal election on Wednesday, correspondent Mark Phillips singled out two dissenters from Catholic tradition in the middle of crowd of hundreds of thousands in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, mere minutes after the white smoke went out of the Sistine Chapel's chimney, and before Pope Francis emerged onto the balcony over the piazza. The two activists, who wore pink "ordain women" pins, not only sought to change the Catholic Church's teachings on the all-male priesthood, but spotlighted "LGBT issues [and] reproductive health care" – a thinly-veiled reference to abortion and contraception – as...

Barack Obama's strategy going into the scheduled sequestration was to hit the panic button, over and over again, putting the very Obama-friendly media into a heavy rotation of disaster metaphors. "Hours, now, until massive government cuts go into effect that could impact every American. Jobs vaporizing, flights delayed, even criminals walking free," warned ABC morning anchor Josh Elliott. On screen were the words "BUDGET ARMAGEDDON." The only people being released from jails were about 2,000 illegal immigrants who were facing deportation. The Department of Homeland Security released them, citing "looming budget cuts." That's just more gamesmanship. Put another quarter in...

The conventions have come and gone, but as always, the TV network "news" coverage of Tampa and Charlotte demonstrated once again that these people have no intention of trying to be equally positive or equally aggressive with the two major parties. Their obvious, but unstated, agenda is to drag Obama over the finish line to re-election. Always on pins and needles for his man Obama, NBC anchor Brian Williams told top Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett at the convention season's end that they will need the "tall order" of "nothing but positive coverage" over the next 60 days. People like Williams...

There’s an exemplary scene in the movie version of “All the President’s Men” that goes basically like this: Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein have been working their asses off on one of their stories about the Watergate scandal. They are pushing to have the story put on the front page of the paper. Ben Bradlee, the Post’s editor, reads the story and asks them a few questions. He then crosses out some words and adds some others and orders the story to be run, but to be buried inside the paper. Bernstein goes ballistic, arguing that it’s a front...

Taking a page from Ronald Reagan, Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Saturday sought to use humor to rebound from his much-noted debate flub earlier in the week. That flub, a 53-second brain freeze that was replayed endlessly on news shows, had him forgetting the name of the Department of Energy, the third federal agency he pledges to eliminate. So Perry was quick to cut off CBS’ Scott Pelley, one of the debate moderators in South Carolina, when he began a question, saying, “Governor Perry, you advocate the elimination of the Department of Energy. If you eliminate the Department of Energy...”...

I missed tonight’s CBS debate, mainly because I spent a great evening with some of my blogging friends here at FreedomWorks’ BlogCon2011. When I returned, though, I got a few messages about one particular moment in the debate, where CBS moderator attempted to lecture Newt Gingrich on the “rule of law” regarding American citizens who join the enemy to wage war against the US. Big mistake. The two worst aspects of this exchange? The smug look on Pelley’s face when he challenged Gingrich on this point, and the “no” you can hear him utter just as Gingrich started his smackdown...

As the debt ceiling debate heats up, with offers of spend, spend, and spend some more from Obama (as he increases taxes) and demands for spending cuts from the Republicans these statements from a few of the freshmen Republicans makes me so glad that we were able to get them into Congress: If President Obama thought he could rattle House Republicans with his warning on Tuesday that Social Security checks might get held up in the event the debt limit was not raised soon, he was mistaken. “That’s not leadership; that is sad and pathetic,” said Representative Allen West,...

According to a new report from TMZ and picked up by Fox, CBS will play it safe and turn to an in-house talent in Scott Pelley to replace Katie Couric as its evening news anchor. The decision came personally from the new CBS News chairman, Jeff Fager, who apparently took the job with the condition that he could name the next anchor. However, Fager didn’t exactly have a wide range of options: “60 Minutes” correspondent, is the choice of CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager. We’re told Fager, who became Chairman in February, took the position on thecondition he could decide...

Could Scott Pelley possibly be this naive, or was he willingly playing the role of MSM cheerleader for the developer of the Ground Zero Mosque? In the course of a chummy interview of GZM developer Sharif El-Gamal aired on Sunday's 60 Minutes, Pelley produced a pearl. Instead of asking a probing question, the CBS "reporter" served as an advocate for El-Gamal's position when it came to the siting of the mosque. Pelley, on his own initiative, asserted: "You don't have your choice of putting this anywhere you want to. There aren't many spots." View video here.

When $27 billion is at stake, some companies would pay big bucks to win a PR battle, but one side of an environmental lawsuit doesn't have to, since CBS is pushing its position for free. On CBS's May 3 "60 Minutes," correspondent Scott Pelley, who once compared global-warming skepticism to Holocaust denial, gave the plaintiff of a $27-billion frivolous lawsuit against Chevron a public relations victory with his report. Pelley's report featured a suit filed by the Amazon Defense Coalition, a group described as "eco-radicals," who are trying to squeeze $27 billion from Chevron for environmental cleanup that the nation's...

(CBS) A German resident held by the U.S. for almost five years tells 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley that Americans tortured him in many ways - including hanging him from the ceiling for five days early in his captivity when he was in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Even after determining he was not a terrorist, Murat Kurnaz says the torture continued. Kurnaz tells his story for the first time on American television this Sunday, March 30, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Kurnaz, an ethnic Turk born and raised in Germany, went to Pakistan in late 2001 at age 19 to study Islam and...

Scott Pelley conducted a very tough interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad which aired on Sunday's 60 Minutes, but on Monday’s Early Show Pelley was very generous in his personal assessment of the man. Host Harry Smith and Pelley agreed that Ahmadinejad is "crazy like a fox" while Pelley also hailed Ahmadinejad as "incorruptible" and "modest." Pelley contended the dictator, who denies the Holocaust, wants Israel destroyed and is causing the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, is a lot smarter than Westerners believe and is even a "friendly" guy: The important thing, I think, Harry, to understand, he's described...

‘60 Minutes’ resident liberal Scott Pelley wasn’t able to get Ahmadinejad to give a straight answer on whether he will build a nuclear bomb. Ahmadinejad also wouldn’t admit that Iran has been responsible for many military deaths in Iraq. After pressed on another topic, the Iranian leader said that he is a Muslim and can not lie. Bwhaha.

The Media Research Center's Gala has only recently concluded. It will be almost a full year until the DisHonors Awards are again distributed. Even so, Scott Pelley's query to John McCain, aired on this evening's 60 Minutes, has to be considered a strong, early contender for Most Inane Question in next year's running.View video here.Let's set the stage. 60 Minutes had devoted extensive time to McCain's recent trip to Iraq. Particular attention was paid to his visit to a Baghdad market, which, as it turned out, was carried out with very considerable security surrounding him. Even so, McCain acknowledged...

The terrorists we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are 7th century savages. What else can you call people who leave a parked car that contains their two young children – a car that is also wired for explosives. The object of leaving their children in the car is to divert suspicion so people will not really notice the car. They then blow up the car – killing several innocent people, including their own children. Consider also the British Muslims who hid a liquid bomb in their child’s bottle.

The following correspondence was sent to Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes immediately after the Haditha segment. TO: Scott Pelley Despite your “shock“ that he stood by his actions, the tactics that SGT Wuterich described to you are spelled out PRECISELY in FM 7-8 (Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad), Battle Drill #6 (Enter Building/Clear Room), Steps 1-17, pages 301-305. FYI, tossing the grenade is STEP 8. If you didn’t already know this, it’s SAD. If you did and just neglected to tell your viewers, it’s DISGUSTING.

Anchor Battle! CBS News Boys Go to Cornersby Joe HaganWith CBS anchor Dan Rather preparing to vacate his desk in March 2005, the campaign to replace him has been launched. Self-propelling are the network’s two youngish reporters on the verge, John Roberts and Scott Pelley. Mr. Pelley let his slingshot loose first. On Monday, Nov. 29, the 47-year-old flak-jacketed correspondent for 60 Minutes—a tough guy with a silver coif and sturdy underjaw—presented his own case: field-reporting chops trump anchor skills for the big chair on the Evening News. "I think the audience can tell the difference between someone who is a...