ABC News Suspends Brian Ross for Misleading Michael Flynn Report

ABC News has suspended Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross for four weeks following a misleading message he delivered about the news that Special Counsel Robert Mueller III had secured a guilty plea from Donald Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.

Ross initially reported that Flynn would testify that Donald Trump, as a candidate, ordered Flynn to contact the Russians before having to clarify that the conversation in question actually took place during the transition, which would be after the election.

ABC News apologized for the misstatement of Ross, saying, "the special report had not been fully vetted through our editorial standards process."

Ross himself has accepted his punishment from the network as an appropriate means of holding him "accountable" for his error, writing on Twitter, "My job is to hold people accountable and that's why I agree with being held accountable myself."

As for Trump, well, he's also had some things to say about the news on Twitter, including blaming Ross for a brief dip in the stock market that occurred after the initial report hit the airwaves.

It's not the first time Ross has had to apologize for making an erroneous claim on-air. In 2012, Ross and the network had to apologize for connecting the Aurora, Colorado shooter with the local Tea Party, without any evidence to substantiate the affiliation.