Veteran journalist Scott Pelley released a statement Tuesday night after he was fired from CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” bashing the network’s new leadership and saying “the collapse of values at the top” had become “untenable.”

Pelley, whose decadeslong career at CBS News earned him dozens of Emmy Awards, was ousted from the network after criticizing the show’s newly named executive producer, Nick Bilton, and editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, in a recent staff meeting.

In a call with CBS News staff members on Wednesday, Weiss defended Pelley’s firing and accused him of having broken a foundation of “trust and mutual respect.”

“Despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately we weren’t able to do so, and so we had to part ways,” Weiss said on the call, which was first reported by Variety. A source confirmed the comments to MS NOW.

Read Pelley’s full statement below:

There has never been anything in America like 60 Minutes.

The Sunday tradition is the most successful program of any kind in history. For more than a decade, its innovative growth on every major online platform has extended its reach to countless millions around the world. This spring, at the end of our 58th season, 60 Minutes grew rapidly with an unheard-of 9% jump in viewers on CBS.

“60” has been the number-one program in America for decades because our beloved audience finds integrity, quality, and humanity in our stories. When stewardship of the program passed to my colleagues and me, our responsibility was to expand energetically into a new age of media technology while preserving the values our audience expects. Now, the new owner of our network is casting this legend aside, apparently to curry a moment of favor with the Trump administration.

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MS NOW staff