Washington Post forced to retract claim Sean Spicer was hiding in bushes

The internet roundly mocked Donald Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer after reports emerged of him hiding in bushes to avoid reporters.

However, it turns out that he wasn’t actually covered in undergrowth, and was merely hiding near them, according to the Washington Post.

Spicer had reportedly been trying to steer clear of a swarm of reporters who wanted answers after President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.

Rather than field question after question, the White House press secretary apparently shouted a statement to the media from his doorway before doing a vanishing act.

The Washington Post reported the scenario happening like this:

White House press secretary Sean Spicer wrapped up his brief interview with Fox Business from the White House grounds late Tuesday night and then disappeared into the shadows, huddling with his staff behind a tall hedge. To get back to his office, Spicer would have to pass a swarm of reporters wanting to know why President Trump suddenly decided to fire the FBI director.

After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the bushes behind these sets, Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so.

And has since updated it to this:

After Spicer spent several minutes hidden in the darkness and among the bushes near these sets, Janet Montesi, an executive assistant in the press office, emerged and told reporters that Spicer would answer some questions, as long as he was not filmed doing so.

Distancing itself from “fake news”, the Washington Post stated at the bottom of the article: “EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to more precisely describe White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s location late Tuesday night in the minutes before he briefed reporters. Spicer huddled with his staff among bushes near television sets on the White House grounds, not “in the bushes,” as the story originally stated.”

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By then, however, the image of Spicer hiding in bushes as the fallout form Mr Comey’s firing had already swept across social media.

Former FBI Director Comey apparently asked for more money and resources into the investigation of Russia’s alleged interference in the US election in 2016 just days before Trump fired him.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee that is carrying out its own investigation, said he believed the action amount to a “looming constitutional crisis”.

He added: ”The President of the United States has just fired the Director of the FBI who was carrying out an investigation into him.”

Top pic: Rex