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At first, Reuters appeared to have the scoop: Charges had been filed against former President Donald J. Trump by the state of Georgia.
But no indictment had actually been handed up by the grand jury, and a document that the news organization cited as its source seemed to have disappeared. Reuters soon walked back its reporting.
Still, the report sent competing news organizations scrambling, with Mr. Trump’s lawyers crying foul and the county’s clerk referring to the document as “fictitious.” The matter only added to the drama surrounding an investigation that appeared to be reaching its culmination after months of anticipation.
The source of confusion was a two-page document that Reuters said was available on the court’s website. The document appeared to list multiple charges against Mr. Trump.
Reuters then reported that the document was taken down from the court’s website, and said in an updated article that the news organization “was not immediately able to determine why the item was posted or removed.”
Hours later, the court clerk’s office issued a news release referring to a “fictitious document that has been circulated online and reported by various media outlets.”
“While there have been no documents filed today regarding such, all members of the media should be reminded that documents that do not bear an official case number, filing date, and the name of The Clerk of Courts, in concert, are not considered official filings and should not be treated as such,” the office said in the statement.
A Reuters spokeswoman said: “We stand by our reporting.”
Lawyers for Mr. Trump criticized the county, saying the document showed that prosecutors “have no respect for the integrity of the grand jury process.” They added, “This is emblematic of the pervasive and glaring constitutional violations which have plagued this case from its very inception.”
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