NEW YORK (AP) -- Fox News Channel erroneously reported early in its coverage Monday of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's alleged involvement in a prostitution ring that the governor had resigned.
Shepard Smith reported that Spitzer had announced his resignation during a brief media statement, but the governor had made no mention of the possibility.
``He came in, he resigned and that was it,'' Smith said.
Smith, who was on location in Mississippi, said he based his report on two sources, including a Fox executive. He and his guests then began a discussion of what Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson's administration would be like.
A few minutes later, Smith corrected himself, saying, ``Excuse me, I'm now told he did not resign in his statement.''
Adding to the confusion, Smith then conducted an interview with Alfonse D'Amato, the former Republican senator who said that his sources had told him that Spitzer had resigned. ``That's my understanding, from pretty reliable sources, that the lieutenant governor is ready to step in if he hasn't already,'' D'Amato said.
Smith read Spitzer's statement, and D'Amato then said his sources were wrong. ``But I don't think he will be able to withstand the incredible pressure,'' D'Amato said.
Forty-five minutes later, a headline on Fox's screen said: ``N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer Expected to Resign Later Today.''
About an hour after that, Fox interviewed Jeannine Pirro, a former GOP district attorney from New York's Westchester County.
``Everyone expected him to resign today,'' Pirro said. ``He didn't.''
Fox News Channel spokesman Brian Lewis did not immediately return phone calls about the report.
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