An 18-month investigation by the liberal media watchdog Columbia Journalism Review has delivered a major black eye to The New York Times and other Pulitzer Prize winners for their stories about the Trump-Russia saga, finding “serious flaws” in their coverage and no acknowledgment that the accusations of collusion with Moscow were never substantiated.

Journalist Jeff Gerth, a former New York Times reporter, said his investigation found that news organizations didn’t follow their own rules for using anonymous sources and refused to be transparent about their work in attempting to prove links between the Trump campaign in 2016 and Russia.

CJR Editor-in-Chief Kyle Pope said of the episode, “No narrative did more to shape Trump’s relations with the press than Russiagate. The story, which included the Steele dossier and the Mueller report among other totemic moments, resulted in Pulitzer Prizes and embarrassing retractions and damaged careers.”