NBC News has suspended Brian Williams, the anchor and managing editor for the network's nightly newscast, for six months without pay.
Williams had stepped down voluntarily, after Stars and Stripes questioned an incident he described on air.
During a broadcast, Williams said a helicopter he was on had been hit by a rocket-propelled grenade while it flew over Iraq in 2003. Members of the military, who were on the helicopter with him, questioned that version of events, and Williams later admitted, he had "misremembered" the episode.
NBC News President Deborah Turness broke the news to staff in a memo.
According to Politico, which got its hands on the memo, Turness said Williams had misrepresented the event on his newscast last month as well as on other occasions. Turness said this was "wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian's position."
"As I'm sure you understand, this was a very hard decision," Turness said. "Certainly there will be those who disagree. But we believe this suspension is the appropriate and proportionate action."
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