CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss defended the firing of longtime 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, telling staff that a breakdown in “trust and mutual respect” left the network with no choice but to part ways with one of its most prominent journalists.

“I’m only interested in working in a newsroom built on trust and mutual respect; we cannot do our work without it. That foundation was broken on Monday,” Weiss reportedly told staff during a newsroom call Wednesday morning, according to the New York Times.