I cannot say I'm surprised ABC has seen fit to suspend Brian Ross for botching a report which claimed former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was prepared to testify that Donald Trump told him to contact the Russians during the election campaign. In point of fact, Trump directed him to do this after the election during the transition period. Flynn has plead guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with the Russians in December 2016 and is cooperating with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller's probe of the matter.
The reason I am not surprised is because of the 2012 mass shooting at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. When the suspect was identified as James Holmes, Ross went on the air to say he found a Jim Holmes on a Tea Party Patriots website. Except that the Holmes who was a Tea Party member was a 52-years old while the actual perpetrator was in his 20's.
In 2012, Ross relied on a Tea Party membership list. In 2017, Ross relied on a single source. Would Ross have done such a thing if he found a James Holmes associated with the Occupy Movement? Would Ross have gone with a story with a single source if it centered around wrongdoing by Obama?If Ross was willing to jump to conclusions about the Tea Party then why wouldn't he jump to conclusions now about Trump?
There might be more to what extent Trump was involved concerning initiating contacts with the Russians, but with such sloppy reporting people will be less inclined to believe further reports which may come to light. As long as the mainstream media sees fit not to exercise due diligence in its coverage of Trump then his claims of "fake news" will have credibility and plausibility.
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