Brian Williams is facing even more potential fallout from his false account of a helicopter ride he took in Iraq back in 2003. In a staff memo posted by The Wrap on Friday, Feb. 6, NBC News President Deborah Turness informed her team that there would be an internal investigation into Williams' statements.
"As you would expect, we have a team dedicated to gathering the facts to help us make sense of all that has transpired," Turness wrote. "We're working on what the best next steps are — and when we have something to communicate we will of course share it with you."
Williams, 55, has been under intense scrutiny since he admitted on Wednesday, Feb. 4, that he had "bungled" an oft-repeated story about being hit by rocket-propelled grenade fire.
"The helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG," he recalled on air just last week. "Our traveling NBC News team was rescued, surrounded, and kept alive by an armored mechanized platoon from the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry."
In his apology on Wednesday, Williams clarified that his aircraft had not, in fact, been hit, and that he "was instead in a following aircraft," which landed on the ground after the incident. "I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago," he told viewers.
"This was a bungled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and, by extension, our brave military men and women, veterans everywhere, those who have served while I did not," he added later. "I hope they know they have my greatest respect and also now my apology."
Turness noted in her memo that Williams had also apologized to the NBC News staff. "Yesterday, Brian and I spoke to the Nightly News team," she wrote, according to The Wrap. "And this morning at the Editorial Exchange, we both addressed the wider group. Brian apologized once again, and specifically expressed how sorry he is for the impact this has had on all of you and this proud organization."
