CBS Journo Reportedly Not Facing Further Repercussions Over Abdul El-Sayed Tweet Amid Internal Calls for Her to Be Fired

Screenshot via CBS News

CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford will reportedly not face consequences at CBS News over a controversial tweet despite internal and external calls for it to happen.

Zeteo media columnist Justin Baragona reported this week that Crawford will “not face any additional repercussions or punishment despite growing calls for her to be suspended or even fired over the incident.”

Crawford faced backlash after tweeting praise for a heckler asking Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Tommy, thank you,” she wrote about the heckler who got into a tense exchange with El-Sayed, who is Muslim. “I had to watch this twice to catch Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s nanosecond, ‘yeah, absolutely,’ response. His subsequent uninterrupted diatribe proving your exact point is the kind of spectacular self-own is the kind ppl only dream about triggering. Congrats.”

Crawford later deleted the post and apologized, admitting it violated CBS’ standards.

“Earlier, I tweeted a video from an Abdul El-Sayed town hall,” she wrote on X. “I deleted that tweet because it was a violation of CBS News standards. I apologize.”

Baragona reported that current and former CBS staffers said Crawford’s tweet clearly violated CBS News standards on journalists expressing partisan opinions.

“There is zero question that she should be fired amongst those of us who care about our reputation,” one CBS staffer said. “It’s difficult enough to work here with all the public scrutiny over ideological slant. This is a litmus test for how serious management is about retaining any shred of credibility.”

Another said, “So Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate is, you know, acceptable.”

Crawford is seen as a close ally to CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, which some believe is why she won’t face major punishment over the tweet. According to a recent Semafor report, Weiss has encouraged journalists to devote “serious resources” to link El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“They know that if Bari’s not on board, it’s not gonna happen,” one insider said. “Bari doesn’t think she did anything wrong.”

CBS did not immediately respond to Mediaite’s request for comment.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!