ABC's Brian Ross: Trump told Flynn to contact Russians 'as a candidate'
■ The claim
Citing a confidant of Michael Flynn, Brian Ross reported on air that Flynn was ready to testify that candidate Trump had directed him to make contact with Russian officials during the campaign.
■ What actually happened
The source had actually said Trump made that request after the election, as president-elect, about matters such as cooperating against ISIS. Ross 'clarified' that evening and ABC issued a formal correction. The network called the original report a serious error and suspended Ross for four weeks without pay.
■ The proof
ABC News issued an on-air and online correction and announced Ross's four-week unpaid suspension on Dec. 2, 2017.
■ Original reporting
- NBC News: Brian Ross suspended for 'serious error' in Flynn reportinghttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/abc-news-reporter-brian-ross-suspended-serious-error-flynn-reporting-n825966
■ Corrections, findings & records
- KATV/Sinclair: ABC News suspends Brian Ross for erroneous Flynn reporthttps://katv.com/news/nation-world/abc-news-suspends-brian-ross-for-serious-reporting-error
- CBS News: Brian Ross suspended four weeks without payhttps://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/brian-ross-abc-news-suspends-reporter-four-weeks-without-pay-for-botched-flynn-report
■ Wayback Machine copies
Stories sometimes get edited after publication. These links open the Internet Archive's earliest snapshot of each original.
- Archive copy: NBC News: Brian Ross suspended for 'serious error' in Flynn reportinghttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/abc-news-reporter-brian-ross-suspended-serious-error-flynn-reporting-n825966
■ Grade
RETRACTED: The outlet itself retracted, corrected, or settled. How we grade →