ABC announced on Saturday that it was suspending ABC News reporter Brian Ross after the network was forced to correct his report saying former national security adviser Michael Flynn would testify against President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE.

"It is vital we get the story right and retain the trust we have built with our audience -- these are our core principles. We fell short of that yesterday. Effective immediately, Brian Ross will be suspended for four weeks without pay," the network said in a statement.

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Ross's suspension comes after ABC initially reported on Friday that Flynn would testify that Trump directed him during the campaign to make contact with Russian officials.

Stocks plunged shortly after the report was put out.

The network soon issued a "clarification," saying that Trump had asked Flynn during the campaign "to find ways to repair relations with Russia and other hot spots," but drew backlash from conservatives and media figures for not calling it a "correction."

Astonishing. The story moved markets, set off a media frenzy, suggested worst possible outcome. This is called a massive correction, or retraction, not clarification. https://t.co/uVUamf4jYY — Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) December 1, 2017

This isn't a clarification, it's a huge correction and one that took hours to do. https://t.co/rYozu7x8Kl — andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) December 1, 2017

ABC later issued a statement calling it a "correction."