Ronan Farrow says NBC's internal investigation into Matt Lauer is 'not a real investigation'

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- During an interview with ABC7 News Monday, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Ronan Farrow weighed in on NBC News' decision not to launch an independent probe into Matt Lauer.

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Farrow's book, titled "Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators," includes an accusation of rape against the former Today Show anchor. The report has sparked calls for NBC News to re-launch an investigation of Lauer.

"I think that one thing is clear having reported on a number of these stories on a number of different companies," Farrow told ABC7 News reporter Liz Kreutz, "Is it is not a real investigation when you do an internal investigation."

"Having an outside firm rubber stamp things after the fact is not an outside investigation," he continued, "And I think people are savvy about that. When a company refuses literally years of calls to hire outside investigators, usually there is something amiss."

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NBC News told the Hollywood Reporter they have no plans to do an outside investigation.

"There is no additional investigation being conducted. We are very confident in the report that was conducted," an NBCUniversal spokeswoman said.

Following Lauer's firing in 2017, NBC News launched an internal investigation, which they said ultimately found NBC executives were unaware of Lauer's behavior. The conclusion was met with skepticism.

The practice is not new. NBC News also launched an internal investigation into Nightly News anchor Brian Williams after he exaggerated his role in a helicopter attack. The investigation was also not released to the public.

Since "Catch and Kill's" release, NBC News has denied trying to halt Farrow's reporting on Weinstein and for covering up for Lauer.

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In the interview with ABC7 News, Farrow said while his book exposed the practice of covering up and "catching and killing" stories, it hasn't ended it.

"The moral of the book is very much the problem goes on, the fight goes on," he said.

"There are important stories that are vital disclosures for the future of our democracy that are still being withheld by powerful interests, but also I hope people close the back cover of this book and feel hopeful," he continued. "Because the other lesson in this is sources are not about to shut up. People are still being brave and journalists in our profession are doing their work and continuing to dig as well."