ABC News correspondent who was suspended for false Russia report is now leaving the network

Former ABC News investigative correspondent Brian Ross has left the network, less than a year after his and his network's reputation was severely damaged by an incorrect exclusive report related to President Donald Trump and the Russia investigation, Fox News reported.

Ross's departure is apparently not directly tied to that incident, for which Ross served a suspension and was later reassigned to one of the network's in-house production companies.

"It is time to say good-bye after 24 years at ABC News, an organization that has meant so much to us," Ross posted on Twitter. "While Rhonda Schwartz and I are signing off from ABC News, we are hardly leaving investigative journalism. There is much more to do."

What did the network say about the departure?

Ross's producer, Rhonda Schwartz, is also leaving the company. An ABC News statement about their departures was positive and flattering.

"In their long careers here, Brian, Rhonda and their team have been recognized with nearly every prestigious award in our business," ABC News President James Goldston wrote. "Over the years they have built a team of the best investigative journalists in our industry, and they leave behind an outstanding group that will continue to break stories for many years to come."

Leaving on a bad note?

In a mistake that may leave a permanent blemish on Ross's career, the journalist in December incorrectly reported on live television that former national security adviser Michael Flynn was going to testify that he had been directed by Trump to contact Russians about foreign policy while Trump was still a candidate.

ABC had to retract the report, and since then, the network has been a target of many of Trump's attacks on the "fake news" media.

"They took this fraudster from ABC, they suspended him for a month," Trump said shortly after the report. "They should have fired him for what he wrote."