This morning, the Associated Press reported some fake news in their coverage of a brief press conference President Trump held before his departure for Texas. A mention of his remarks appearing on the AP’s twitter feed read, “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.”

According to 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.

Sounds like the President is lying to the press, doesn’t it? Of course he wanted something from Ukraine.

But the President was not lying. The AP reporter, either intentionally or unintentionally, failed to grasp that Trump had been quoting from the testimony of his ambassador, Gordon Sondland. In the clip below, Sondland is being questioned before the impeachment inquiry committee, first by Adam Schiff and then by House Republican counsel Steve Castor.

He is recounting a phone call he had with the President in which Sondland asks Trump what he wants from Ukraine. Sondland tells Schiff and Castor the President answered, “I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo.”

What do you think “Contradicting” means? pic.twitter.com/YKDSbjPoCJ

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 20, 2019

Even CNN’s seriously anti-Trump reporter Daniel Dale thought the AP’s story was too much. Dale sent out a couple of tweets to clear up the misunderstanding, which was really quite remarkable.

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

Matt Wolking, the Deputy Director of Communications for the Trump campaign, was stunned by Dale’s act of decency. He tweeted, “BREAKING: Pigs are flying and it is apparently a cold day in hell. CNN’s Daniel Dale is defending Trump against fake news.”

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

Shortly afterward, the AP issued a correction (shown below) which read, “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.”

Better yet, “An earlier tweet was exposed for being a lie and we didn’t get away with it, so we have deleted it.”

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