According to a story published by The Associated Press, CBS has forced “60 Minutes” correspondent Lara Logan and her producer to take a leave of absence.
The order was issued on Tuesday after CBS hosted a deep review of Logan’s coverage on the Benghazi raid. According to the report, Logan and the “60 Minutes” team didn’t do a thorough job on checking the validity of the facts from their source, a security contractor who said he was present during the U.S. mission in Libya.
After the review Jeff Fager, the CBS News Chairman and the executive produce of “60 Minutes,” ordered Logan and her producer, Max McClellan, to take a leave of absence. The duration of Logan and McClellan’s suspension has yet to be determined.
Logan’s story on “60 Minutes,” heavily relied on a statement made by a security contractor, Dylan Davies. The story used his account of what happened during the U.S. mission in Libya. Sources say that Davies had informed Logan and CBS that he told his employers he wasn’t there during the mission, which should have served as an indicator on the validity of his testimony.
Davies had filed a report with his employer, Blue Mountain, that he was at his villa on the night of the incident but when confronted by Fager and CBS, Davies told them that he had told the FBI he was.
A week after that, The New York Times reported that Davies told the FBI he wasn’t on the scene at the time of the mission. CBS confirmed this report shortly after and said a correction would be issued.
Al Ortiz, CBS News executive and leader of the review on Logan’s reporting said that the FBI report was “knowable before the piece aired.” Logan and McLellan are being held responsible for not looking into a wider array of sources to ensure the legitimacy of Davies claims.
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