The Associated Press tweeted today that Donald Trump contradicted Gordon Sondland’s testimony:

Contradicting the testimony of his own ambassador, President Trump says he wanted "nothing" from Ukriane and says the #ImpeachmentHearings should be brought to an end. https://t.co/C4eDVhvGiI — The Associated Press (@AP) November 20, 2019

More from the AP:

President Donald Trump is insisting Wednesday that he wanted “nothing” from Ukraine and declared that impeachment hearings should be brought to an end. The president read from handwritten notes when speaking to reporters on the White House lawn nearly an hour later than his scheduled departure for Texas. Trump addressed the ongoing testimony from Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, who linked the president to a decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into a political rival.

Except … Donald Trump didn’t contradict anything:

He literally quoted from Sondland's testimony, guys. Bang up journalism. — Kyle Raccio (@kyleraccio) November 20, 2019

The media literally cannot stop stepping in their own shit. He's quoting Sondland's testimony. Directly. Correct this. — Joe Manzella (@jpmanzella) November 20, 2019

Has "contradict" undergone one of those reversals of meaning like "literally" did and I just didn't notice? https://t.co/kFKblTjTJx — Dodd (@Amuk3) November 20, 2019

What do you think “Contradicting” means? pic.twitter.com/YKDSbjPoCJ — Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 20, 2019

Um, his own ambassador testified that that’s precisely what Trump told him. Our news media is a propaganda arm of the permanent bureaucratic sinecure state — in part because it’s the deep state who feeds them much of their content. Reporting is hard. Stenography, less so. https://t.co/51C9TUl2o4 — Mulder’s Tendency to Slay Giant Balloon People (@proteinwisdom) November 20, 2019

Just how egregious is the AP’s bogus reporting? Even Resistance CNN reporter Daniel Dale is calling them out:

This is wrong. What Trump told reporters did not contradict Sondland's testimony. Sondland testified Trump told him "I want nothing" from Ukraine. That's what Trump was saying to reporters — that Sondland testified he'd said "I want nothing." https://t.co/uTZzq1Nur1 — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 20, 2019

My point is not that Trump didn't want anything from Ukraine. Sondland is testifying that he believed Trump wanted something. But he said that Trump *told* him that Trump wanted nothing. That is what Trump emphasized to reporters; not a contradiction. https://t.co/WbxySCIRnh — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 20, 2019

Dale’s CNN career pretty much revolves around busting Donald Trump. So for him to call out the AP for this is pretty major. Even he has a line.

BREAKING: Pigs are flying and it is apparently a cold day in hell. CNN's Daniel Dale is defending Trump against fake news. pic.twitter.com/BO4zhLlsAq — Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@MattWolking) November 20, 2019

better buy lottery tickets now before the energy shifts… — PhyreDude (@PhyreDude) November 20, 2019

Seriously, though, good on Dale. If the case against Trump is really so clear-cut and damning, the media shouldn’t have to resort to making crap up.

It’s worth noting that about an hour after sending out their initial BS tweet, the AP deleted it and tweeted out a BS explanation:

An earlier tweet that didn’t make clear that President Trump was quoting from Gordon Sondland’s testimony in which he was quoting Trump has been deleted. — The Associated Press (@AP) November 20, 2019

The problem with the earlier tweet wasn’t a lack of clarity; it was a lack of truth. Do better, AP. Lord knows you’ve set the bar low enough, it shouldn’t be that difficult.