Falsely Accused Tea Partier to ABC's Brian Ross: 'What Kind of Idiot Makes That Kind of Statement?'

As NewsBusters previously reported, ABC's Brian Ross on Friday falsely accused a Tea Party member of being the "James" Holmes that orchestrated the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado.

"Jim" Holmes during an interview with the Daily Caller had some harsh words for his accuser saying, "What kind of idiot makes that kind of statement?”

“Really, seriously, how do we take a journalist seriously when it’s pretty clear they really haven’t done any sort of check on their facts?” told the Caller's Alex Pappas:

Holmes informed Pappas that ABC News didn’t contact him before Ross went on air.

In fact, he still hasn’t heard from anyone there or received a direct apology.

“They could’ve contacted me through the Tea Party Patriots website,” Holmes said.

That certainly wouldn't have been difficult; the site lists a phone number at the Contact Us page.

I guess that would have been too much work for an "investigative reporter" like Ross.

“I do understand what making a mistake means," Holmes added. "But is it really worth the person’s reputation, the potential ruining of the person’s reputation?”

Referencing his law enforcement experience, Holmes said you should “never, ever, ever bring somebody’s name or association into an accusation into the public eye until I know the truth.”

Good advice, Jim. Maybe Ross should take it.