ABC Issues Major Correction after Botched Flynn Report That Led to Dow Plunge

ABC issued an embarrassing correction Friday night after a report by Brian Ross caused a panic in the stock market and set Twitter on fire with thousands of retweets. Ross originally reported that then-candidate Trump had directed Michael Flynn to contact the Russians during the campaign. ABC later clarified that Trump made the call during the transition.

CORRECTION of ABC News Special Report: Flynn prepared to testify that President-elect Donald Trump directed him to make contact with the Russians *during the transition* — initially as a way to work together to fight ISIS in Syria, confidant now says. https://t.co/ewrkVZTu2K pic.twitter.com/URLiHf3uSm

— ABC News (@ABC) December 2, 2017

There is a monumental difference between Trump directing Flynn to contact the Russians during the campaign — which has obvious {{{Russia collusion}}} implications — and after the election, which is standard procedure. Transition officials are expected to reach out to foreign governments during the lame-duck period before the new president takes office.

The Dow plunged 350 points after the false report.

The revelation that the president-elect may have directed Flynn to contact the Russians during the transition is still embarrassing for Trump because he has steadfastly denied that he had any knowledge of Flynn’s phone calls with the Russian ambassador.

This isn’t the first time Brian Ross has gotten a major story wrong. In 2012 he suggested on the air that Colorado mass shooter James Holmes was tied to the Tea Party.

Ross based his report on the fact that he had found the name “Jim Holmes” listed on a Colorado Tea Party site. That led to a firestorm of accusations on social media that the Tea Party is violent — a false narrative that the MSM was always eager to stoke.