Veteran investigative reporter for ABC, Brian Ross, was officially suspended without pay for giving a misleading report on the situation with Michael Flynn and the accusations against him. In what is likely a move to ensure they do not get painted as the “New Fake News Kings,” ABC reacted swiftly removing him from his post.
On a report that aired Friday, Ross said that a confidant of Michael Flynn’s had reported that Candidate Trump had told the Lieutenant General to make contact with Russia, which would have been at the very least a gross violation of ethics and, of course, added more fuel to the fire of Russian conspiracy.
The Reality
In actual fact, the “confidant” had said that Flynn was asked to make contact by “President-elect Trump,” which is almost exactly what an incoming president is expected to do. In fairness to ABC, they corrected the mistake both on air and in print, saying:
“It is vital we get the story right and retain the trust we have built with our audience –- these are our core principles. We fell far short of that yesterday. Effective immediately, Brian Ross will be suspended for four weeks without pay.”
But was damage already done on social media? And how many people on the left felt the “righteous indignation” that goes hand in hand with the pushing of the narrative? If the correction is not as widely publicized as the original error, then serious damage has been done.
The Narrative
The fact that a President-elect asked his security advisor to contact an ally with regards to national security issues (in this case ISIS), should not be front-page news. If a President-elect HAD NOT asked his national security advisor to reach out, THIS would be major news. It seems that both the president and Flynn were doing their jobs properly.
Could it be that leftist news agencies are willing to take the hit of being called Fake News, and even suspend (or fire) their own people to further a narrative that does damage to President Trump (and ultimately the nation)?
Make no mistake, with the Tax Bill coming passing soon, and the grim predictions of Project Fear failing to come true, the establishment see this as the end game. If they cannot scupper the presidency now, they know they have no chance later.
Gone will be the lynchpin of Obamacare, the Wall will begin construction, and as the economy goes from strength to strength, lies and propaganda are the only weapons remaining in their arsenal.
