The top lawyer at Homeland Security posted parts of his 60 Minutes interview that the show left out, saying CBS cut his answers about rapists and murderers from its story on deportations.
Story Highlights
- DHS General Counsel James Percival shared unaired footage from his 60 Minutes interview on X.
- He says the show “declined to include” his talk about rapists and murderers.
- The segment, which aired Sunday, October 25, looked at migrants the U.S. sent to “third countries,” places that are not their home countries.
- Published reports did not include a response from CBS to the DHS posts.
- The 60 Minutes story centered on Moussa Diawara, a Malian man from the Houston suburbs. On Monday, October 26, ICE said he faces allegations of immigration fraud.
DHS Posts What 60 Minutes Left Out
On Tuesday, October 27, James Percival, the general counsel and top lawyer at the Department of Homeland Security, posted clips on X from the parts of his 60 Minutes interview that did not air. He says the show chose to leave them out. “A conversation with @60Minutes on rapists and murderers, which they declined to include,” he wrote. In another post he added, “You can kind of see why @60Minutes left stuff like this on the cutting room floor.”
BOOM: DHS's James Percival LEVELS 60 Minutes By Sharing Footage From Interview on Illegals They CUT https://t.co/5WmnJtm1E5
Looks like 60 Min is looking for the next Democrat shill to replace Stahl.— Don'tDrinkDaKoolaid (@MSMisSoma) October 27, 2026
The department’s own account joined in. “WATCH WHAT @60Minutes DIDN’T SHOW YOU,” DHS posted, sharing what it called “the FULL, uncut interview” with Percival. CBS has also posted a 43-minute extended version of the interview on its website, so viewers can see more of the exchange than the TV segment showed.
The Exchange That Did Not Air
According to reports, the unaired part centers on an internal DHS document. It showed that about 0.5 percent of detainees early in the Trump administration had been accused or convicted of homicide, and 1.4 percent of sexual assault, or roughly 2 percent combined. The correspondent, Gianna Toboni, pressed Percival on whether “everybody else” really needed to face consequences.
In the clips, Percival argues that everyone has to follow the law, that lesser offenders often go on to commit worse crimes, and that every crime by someone who is not supposed to be in the country is a crime that could have been prevented. In a separate post, he said he “explained the relationship between compassion and justice” to the show.
What the Show Did Air
The 60 Minutes report looked at “third-country” deportations, when the U.S. sends a migrant to a country that is not his own. CBS said about 25,000 people were sent to third countries out of nearly one million deported in the first year and a half of President Trump’s second term.
The story centered on Moussa Diawara, a Malian man who lived in the Houston suburbs with his wife and children, who are U.S. citizens. In 2012, an immigration judge ruled he could not be sent back to Mali. He was deported on a July 30 flight that stopped in Ghana. Diawara says that within five days, Ghanaian officials put him on a flight to Mali anyway. The show said it got the names of all 63 people on that flight and found a criminal charge or conviction for 19 percent of them. It said 17 of the 19 people it reached who were sent to Ghana said they were moved against their will to countries U.S. judges had ruled off limits.
Percival’s Answers on Camera
In the part that did air, Percival defended the program. “I absolutely believe with all of my heart that these third country removals have stopped crimes from happening and kept Americans safer,” he said. He explained that some serious criminals are sent to third countries because their home countries refuse to take them back.
Asked about Ghana sending people on to their home countries, Percival said, “I’m not aware of any such cases.” He said deportees “can always consent to go home,” or a foreign government may have followed its own rules and decided the return was lawful. DHS also said Ghana gave the U.S. “diplomatic assurances” for Diawara’s safety and questioned whether his fear claims were believable.
The Fight Over the Edit
On Monday, October 26, ICE went after the report on X, saying Diawara faces allegations of immigration fraud. The agency’s post did not give details of the claim.
TV news shows cut long interviews down to fit their time slots. The fight here is over what got cut. DHS says the show dropped his answers about the most violent offenders, the people the department says it most wants out of the country. With both the DHS clips and the CBS extended interview online, viewers can watch the longer exchange and judge for themselves.
Sources:
twitchy.com, cbsnews.com, cbsnews.com, cbsnews.com
