In light of the revelation that he was not on a helicopter that was shot down during the Iraq War and admist of a slew of allegations against other stories he’s connected to, Brian Williams will be taking a brief hiatus away from the anchor desk for NBC Nightly News.
Williams announced the hiatus himself via a statement on the NBC news website:
https://twitter.com/RobertDEdwards/status/564170971272060929/photo/1
This announcement comes after NBC launched an internal probe into the allegations against Williams, including the Iraq story and claims he made during Hurricane Katrina. From AP via Yahoo News:
“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.”
Richard Esposito, who has worked at the New York Daily News, New York Newsday and ABC and is now at NBC, is leading the investigation.
NBC is still holding close to their pledge to stand by Williams, despite his admission from earlier in the week and polls showing nearly 80% saying he should lose his job.