ABC News apologized Wednesday for an incorrect chyron that said former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had pleaded guilty to five charges of manslaughter.
What? @ABC pic.twitter.com/a2xrUdyg79
— Grim (@TheTenArms) June 20, 2018
“We regret and apologize for the false lower third graphic that aired during our special report,” the network said on its Twitter page. “We are investigating how incorrect information was in our system and how and why it was allowed to air.”
“We apologize to our viewers and to Mr. Manafort. There simply is no excuse for this sort of mistake,” ABC added.
The incorrect chyron appeared as video showed Trump meeting with members of Congress to discuss immigration policy, around 12:3o p.m. ET.
Manafort is certainly facing the legal fight of his life: he was sent to jail Friday over accusations of witness tampering as he awaits trial on several charges, none of them manslaughter.
Trump responded later on Wednesday, boosting the story to his tens of millions of Twitter followers:
Look what Fake ABC News put out. I guess they had it prepared from the 13 Angry Democrats leading the Witch Hunt! #StopTheBias pic.twitter.com/c0XOk1btEQ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2018
This post has been updated.
