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Anthony Scaramucci has publicly expressed his appreciation, tweeting on Saturday that "CNN did the right thing. Classy move. Apology accepted. Everyone makes mistakes. Moving on." | Getty 3 CNN staffers resign over retracted Scaramucci-Russia story

Three CNN staffers have resigned following the publication and subsequent retraction of a story linking a Trump transition team member to the Russia-related investigations.

The piece, published late last week, cited an anonymous source saying the Senate Intelligence Committee was looking into the chief executive of a $10-billion Russian investment fund who met with financier Anthony Scaramucci before the inauguration. The report also said that two Democratic senators wanted to know whether Scaramucci had indicated in the meeting whether sanctions against Russia would be lifted, a decision that could impact the investment fund.

Out are: The reporter, Pulitzer-Prize nominee Thomas Frank; assistant managing editor Eric Lichtblau (who recently joined from the New York Times and is a Pulitzer winner himself); and Lex Haris, the executive editor in charge of investigations.

"In the aftermath of the retraction of a story published on CNN.com, CNN has accepted the resignations of the employees involved in the story's publication," CNN said in a statement.

"On Friday, CNN retracted a story published by my team. As Executive Editor of that team, I have resigned," Haris said in a statement published by CNN. "I've been with CNN since 2001, and am sure about one thing: This is a news organization that prizes accuracy and fairness above all else. I am leaving, but will carry those principles wherever I go."

According to a source familiar with the situation, Scaramucci called Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist on Friday after the story was posted, and alluded to the possibility of a lawsuit if the piece was not taken down.

By Friday night, the piece was retracted with an editor's note appended, saying in part that the "story did not meet CNN's editorial standards and has been retracted. Links to the story have been disabled. CNN apologizes to Mr. Scaramucci."

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Scaramucci has publicly expressed his appreciation, tweeting on Saturday that "CNN did the right thing. Classy move. Apology accepted. Everyone makes mistakes. Moving on."

CNN already had processes in place for anonymous sources, requiring a sign-off by an executive editor before publication. Now, extra restrictions are being placed on stories connected to Russia, according to a leaked memo published by BuzzFeed on Sunday, requiring further scrutiny by higher-ups.

According to a CNN source, the standard procedures in place were not followed for the story. The legal team had not fully reviewed the final piece and was concerned and, in some ways surprised, when they saw it had been published before the sign-off.

A CNN spokesperson declined to comment beyond the statement.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the piece said Scaramucci called Frank and alluded to a possible lawsuit. In a statement, Frank said Scaramucci did not call him after the story was published or at any time, only that they exchanged emails as he was reporting the story.