(Mirror Daily, United States) – ABC News’ Chief Investigative Correspondent, Brian Ross (photo left), has been forced to take a leave of absence for four weeks following a false report on President Trump and his former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
According to Ross, Flynn agreed to testify that the Commander in Chief had instructed him to contact several Russian operatives during the presidential campaign. Ross made the statements on Friday, and ABC News issued a correction Saturday, underlining that the incident happened during the transition period.
We deeply regret and apologize for the serious error we made yesterday,
the network said Saturday.
The broadcaster also explained that Ross’ report was erroneous since it hadn’t been fully vetted by its editorial team. During the report, the correspondent cited a close friend of Flynn. The report was supposed to be a bombshell that would have turned the tide of the federal investigation into Trump’s team alleged collusion with Russia.
ABC News deleted the tweet reporting Ross’ claim after it was shared by more than 25,000 users.
ABC News Corrects Ross’ Trump Story
According to the network’s correction, Ross’ source also said that Trump commissioned Flynn to engage with the Russians to help mend the relations with Russia. The order to contact Moscow to collaborate in the fight against ISIS was given after the election, ABC said.
In the statement, the network underlined that it is critical to get their stories right and preserve the public’s trust. “We fell far short of that yesterday,” it added.
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Journalism Ethics noted that the mishap will just offer the Trump camp new ammunition against the press, which the President has often described as “biased” and a “fake news” spreader.
Shortly after ABC News’ correction, the President praised the broadcaster for Ross’ suspension over a “horrendously inaccurate” report. The presidential tweet ended with a criticism of the “Fake News” media.
Congratulations to @ABC News for suspending Brian Ross for his horrendously inaccurate and dishonest report on the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt. More Networks and “papers” should do the same with their Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017
Image Source: Defense.gov