By Joe Concha - 11/04/16 01:31 PM EDT
Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Friday apologized on-air for reporting that there would “likely” be an FBI indictment against the Clinton Foundation for alleged pay-to-play schemes.
"That just wasn’t inartful, it was a mistake and for that I’m sorry. I should have said they will continue to build their case,” Baier told host Jon Scott on Fox’s “Happening Now.”
"Indictment obviously is 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," he added.
Baier said he stood by his sourcing on the ongoing active investigation into the Clinton Foundation, but added that a prosecutor would have to take the case and make it to a grand jury before an indictment could take place.
“[We] are working to get sources with knowledge of the details on the record and on camera, hopefully today,” he said.
Baier’s story drew immediate pushback from Hillary Clinton supporters and from other news networks, with NBC News, ABC News and CNN all reporting that his assertion is false.
Donald Trump on Thursday cited Baier’s report at a campaign rally in Florida, saying that “the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's pay-for-play corruption during her tenure as secretary of state."
"In other words," Trump continued, "the FBI is investigating how Hillary Clinton put the office of secretary of State up for sale in violation of federal law."
Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway on Thursday suggested it doesn’t matter whether the Baier’s report is true because it has hurt Clinton politically.
"The damage is done to Hillary Clinton,” Conway told MSNBC’s Brian Williams.
“No matter how it's being termed the voters are hearing it for what it is — a culture of corruption," she added.
The Hill has reached out to Fox News for comment. A network spokesperson referred to Baier's comments to Jon Scott on the network earlier.
http://thehill.com/media/304363-foxs-baier-apologizes-for-report-on-clinton-indictment