Fox News Chief Political Anchor Retracts, Apologizes for Report Clinton ‘Likely’ to Be Indicted

‘It Was a Mistake, and for That I’m Sorry’

Friday afternoon Fox News Channel’s chief political anchor Bret Baier was forced to apologize for and retract a false report he had delivered nearly 48 hours earlier that had flooded conservative news and social media: Hillary Clinton was “likely” to be indicted after a lengthy FBI pay-to-play investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

As this report is being written, Donald Trump is in New Hampshire, a toss up state, currently referring to the false Fox News story at a rally, as he has done since it aired on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier” Wednesday at 6 PM EDT. The audience is right now repeatedly chanting “Lock her up!”

After Baier falsely reported the story, on Thursday he was forced to retract a portion of it, noting he had suggested the FBI would indict Clinton. The FBI does not hve the power to do so, only a federal prosecutor could, after reviewing evidence and determining if any laws were broken.

Baier Thursday called his characterization of his claim that the FBI was moving towards an indictment “inartful,” but insisted an indictment was still “likely.”

Donald Trump did not tell his supporters of the update.

Friday at noon, Baier again went on Fox News, to apologize and retract, saying, “we have also reported there is a split not only between the FBI and the Department of Justice on this, but within the FBI.”

Baier’s sources are, as Media Matters noted, “anonymous” and “unvetted,” and Baier’s reporting is “uncritical.” He is using sources that are angry partisans who, according to multiple reports, appear to be feeding the Trump campaign information and trying to use the FBI as a wall to block Clinton’s election.

But back to Baier’s retraction. Here’s the video from today, and, via Media Matters, the transcript.

Bolding ours:

“I was quoting from one source about his certainty that the server had been hacked by five foreign intelligence agencies. And while others believe that is probable because of the confirmed hacking of email accounts Secretary Clinton communicated with, as of today there are still no digital fingerprints of a breach no matter what the working assumption is within the bureau. All the time, but especially in heated election on topic this explosive every word matters, no matter how well-sourced,” he said.

“Which brings me to this. I explained a couple of times yesterday the phrasing of one of my answers to Brit Hume on Wednesday night, saying it was inartful, the way I answered the last question about whether the investigations would continue after the election. And I answered that, yes, our sources said it would. They would continue to likely to an indictment.”

“Well, that just wasn’t inartful, it was a mistake, and for that I’m sorry. I should have said, they will continue to build their case. Indictment obviously is a very loaded word, Jon, especially in this atmosphere and no one knows if there would or would not be an indictment no matter how strong investigators feel their evidence is. It is obviously a prosecutor who has to agree to take the case and make that case to a grand jury. We stand by the sourcing, on the ongoing active Clinton Foundation investigation and are working to get sources with knowledge of the details on the record, and on camera.”

As I wrote in an editorial Thursday evening, Baier’s “reporting” is Fox News hackery at its finest.

Baier’s initial report sounded so damning, until you actually listen to how artfully he used key words that sound damning but then, you know, also just sound false.

So Fox News walks back its story, then retracts it, giving Donald Trump the tiny crumb of “credible journalism” he needs days before the election to literally paint Hillary Clinton as a criminal about to be indicted.

As I said: literally paint. Here’s the ad Trump released hours after the initial, false Fox News report:

That Fox News report, but not the walking back or the apology or the retraction have been flying around conservative media and on social media. 

Thursday, ABC News (and other outlets) dismissed Bret Baier’s reporting as “inaccurate and without merit,” “false and ill-informed,” and showing “no evidence of wrongdoing.”

But literally millions of conservatives, including undecided or even Clinton voters, have heard the lies from Fox News and Donald Trump, and will vote for him based on that one Fox News story that is a lie.