Sen. Ed Markey (D., Mass.) on Wednesday spread a false news story about the investigation into President Donald Trump's campaign team's purported ties to Russia.
"There are very strong allegations that the Russians had relationships with people inside of the Trump campaign," Markey said during an interview on CNN.
"In fact, subpoenas have now been issued in Northern Virginia with regard to General [Michael Flynn] and General Flynn's associates," Markey continued. "A grand jury has been impanelled up in New York."
There have been subpoenas issued in Virginia, but no reputable outlet has reported anything about an impaneled grand jury. When a Guardian reporter requested a source, Markey's office said he read about it on two blogs.
A Markey aide says that the Senator was referring to reports on Louise Mensch's blog and Palmer Report (seriously) https://t.co/4U8EEg3yKn
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) May 10, 2017
Neither the Palmer Report nor Louise Mensch are considered credible sources. The Palmer Report is a left-wing blog known for making fantastic and unproven claims, while Mensch is a former British MP known for accusing many people of being secret Russian spies.
In response, Markey's office formally apologized for making the claim.
"This morning Senator Markey erroneously reported that a grand jury has been empaneled in New York related to the wider inquiry of possible Trump campaign and administration ties to Russia," a spokesman said in a statement.
"Senator Markey does not have direct intelligence that is the case, and the information he was provided during a briefing is not substantiated," the statement continued. "Subpoenas have been issued in Eastern Virginia, but Senator Markey apologizes for the confusion."