New York Times editor wanted to check with far-left Sen. Chuck Schumer before publishing GOP Sen. Tim Scott's op-ed, former NYT opinion editor Bari Weiss says

Bari Weiss — a former opinion editor at the New York Times who resigned in July 2020 after "constant bullying" from colleagues as she challenged the paper's leftism — told Republican U.S. Sen Tim Scott (S.C.) that while she was still at the Times, an editor insisted that Democrat U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) should be consulted before the paper published an op-ed by Scott.

What are the details?

Mediaite noted that Weiss spoke to Scott about the issue on her "Honestly with Bari Weiss" podcast Wednesday, detailing to the senator what went down in the newsroom regarding Scott's op-ed about a police reform bill he was working on — the Justice Act — following the death of George Floyd.

“I want to tell you a little story that I’m not sure if you know,” Weiss told Scott, according to a recording Mediaite posted, in which Weiss said that while the bill was endorsed by a range of people — including Schumer — it fell apart.

Scott noted to Weiss that it failed because “the Democrats really wanted the issue more than the solution," according to the Mediaite recording.

Weiss added more, according to the Mediaite recording: “Well, here’s what happened. I was at the New York Times, and you or your staff sent in an op-ed about the bill and why it fell apart."

"There was a discussion about the piece and whether or not we should run it," Weiss continued. "And one colleague, a more senior colleague, said to a more junior colleague who was pushing for the piece, ‘Do you think the Republicans really care about minority rights?'”

“Wow,” Scott said in reaction to Weiss' claim.

“And the more junior colleague said, ‘I think Tim Scott cares about minority rights.’ And then, and here’s the pretty shocking part: The more senior colleague said, ‘Let’s check with Senator Schumer before we run it,'” Weiss added before saying the more junior colleague "refused."

In the Mediate recording, Weiss added that the younger colleague's contention was that checking with Schumer "wasn't an ethical thing to do."

According to Fox News, the op-ed was never published.

But Scott — reacting further to Weiss' claims about the Times editorial discussion in the Mediaite recording — said, “I am disappointed to hear that. I am not surprised to hear that. You have to remember that the Washington Post fact-checked my life."

Scott added, according to the Mediaite recording:

“I can’t tell you how disrespectful and dishonoring that entire process was ... went on for three or four months as they went through records to find out whether or not my grandfather actually dropped out of school in the third grade, their records suggested he dropped out in the fourth grade but still didn’t learn to read,” he recalled. “They wanted to know if I had somehow hidden my silver spoon and just was using a plastic spoon instead.”

“And the more they dug, the more they realized that there was no evidence that disproved the fact that I am who I say I am and that I experienced what I said I’ve experienced,” he added.

“So there is something in national media that wants to frame any conservative, particularly black conservatives, as being disingenuous or insincere or a tool for the conservatives. When in fact the black community is consistently as conservative as any community,” he concluded

What did the Times have to say?

A New York Times spokesperson in response to Weiss' allegation told TheBlaze on Friday that "New York Times Opinion never seeks outside approval or consultation whether to publish guest opinion essays.”

You can hear part of the Weiss-Scott exchange in the below Fox News reaction video: