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Fox News' Bret Baier apologizes for 'mistake' in Clinton Foundation report

Fox News reporter and anchor Bret Baier, who hosts “Special Report” on the cable channel, apologized Friday for reporting that indictments were “likely” in an ongoing investigation into Clinton Foundation investigation, adding that the reports were a mistake.

“All the time, but especially in a heated election on a topic this explosive, every word matters — no matter how well-sourced,” Baier told Fox News’ Jon Scott in the Friday broadcast of “Happening Now.” "Which brings me to this: I explained a couple of times yesterday the phrasing of one of my answers to [Fox News host] Brit Hume on Wednesday night, saying it was inartful the way I answered [a] 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 an indictment. Well that wasn't just inartful. It was a mistake. And for that, I’m sorry.”

Baier apologized for the use of the word “indictment,” but said he and the network stand by their reporting.

“‘Indictment’ is obviously 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. ... We stand by the sourcing on the ongoing, active investigation into the Clinton Foundation and are working to get sources with knowledge of the details on the record and on camera, hopefully today.”

Baier’s reporting, in which he said that an indictment is ‘likely,’ was refuted by ABC News, NBC News, CNN and other news outlets, although the reporting was picked up and repeated in conservative media. The Clinton campaign called the Fox News reports “baseless.”