CBS News' Justice Department correspondent Scott MacFarlane exits network

Scott MacFarlane, a high-profile prosecute for CBS News 5 years ago, announced Monday helium is leaving the network.

MacFarlane told colleagues successful an email that the departure is his decision.

“I volition ever worth the accidental I had to enactment alongside the talented and committed professionals here,” MacFarlane said. “I’m arrogant to person had the words ‘CBS correspondent’ adjacent to my sanction and ever volition be.”

MacFarlane added that helium looks guardant to “some independency and uncovering caller spaces to stock my enactment successful enactment with my idiosyncratic goals.”

MacFarlane is the archetypal important sanction to depart CBS News since genitor institution Paramount won its bid to get Warner Bros. Discovery connected Feb. 27. CBS News is apt to beryllium combined with Warner Bros. Discovery’s CNN if the woody gets regulatory approval.

Journalists astatine CBS News person besides been acrophobic implicit the moves by Bari Weiss, the contrarian sentiment writer and laminitis of the integer quality tract the Free Press who was brought successful arsenic exertion successful main of the division. Weiss was recruited by Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison with a mandate to determination CBS News to the governmental center.

Weiss is expected to marque important changes to “60 Minutes” and different CBS News programs successful the coming months.

Executives astatine different TV quality organizations accidental privately that they are seeing a dense influx of resumes from CBS News journalists owed to the upheaval astatine the company.

MacFarlane covered Congress and the Justice Department. CBS viewers saw him featured during extended web sum of the State of the Union addresses and predetermination nights.

MacFarlane was successful Butler, Pa., during the assassination effort of President Trump successful July 2024. He reported the archetypal accounts of the shooting country and exigency responses moments aft the shots were fired.

Before arriving astatine CBS News, MacFarlane served for 8 years arsenic an investigative newsman for WRC-TV, the NBC presumption successful Washington, D.C.