Bob Lewis Suspended: Associated Press Reporter Suspended After Erroneous Report

Bob Lewis Suspended: Associated Press Reporter Suspended After Erroneous Report
Zachary Stieber
10/18/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

Bob Lewis, an Associated Press reporter, has been temporarily suspended after publishing a report that turned out to be erroneous.

Politico reported on Oct. 18 that Lewis has been suspended.

Lewis published a report on Oct. 9 alleging that Terry McAuliffe, a contender for Virginia governor, lied to a federal official about a death benefits scam.

The Associated Press retracted the story on the same day.

“The initial alert moved on AP’s Virginia state wire at 9:45 p.m.,” AP spokesperson Paul Colford told Poynter via email. “The story was withdrawn one hour and 38 minutes later. That was an hour and 38 minutes too long.”

Lewis said via Twitter: “The error was mine and I take responsibility for it.”

Lewis didn’t respond to a request for comment from Politico and the Associated Press said that it doesn’t comment on personnel matters.

The Virginia governors race will end with a vote on November 5. 

Bob McDonnell, the current governor, is prevented by term limits to run again. Auliffee, a Democrat; Republican Ken Cuccinelli; and Libertarian Robert Sarvis are vying to replace him.

 

Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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