1. Distortion of Al-Haythami in a narration where it is mentioned that Mu’waiyah took a forbidden drink

Ahmad bin Hanbal (Died 241 AH) narrated : 

حدثنا زيد بن الحباب، حدثني حسين، حدثنا عبد الله بن بريدة، قال: دخلت أنا وأبي على معاوية فأجلسنا على الفرش، ثم أتينا بالطعام فأكلنا، ثم أتينا بالشراب فشرب معاوية، ثم ناول أبي، ثم قال: ما شربته منذ حرمه رسولُ الله …

Narrated by Abdullah Ibn Buraydah: “I entered, me and my father, upon Muawiyah and he sat us upon some chairs. Then he brought us some food so we ate it; and then he brought us some Sharab and Muawiyah drank and then he offered my father and then he said ‘I did not drink it since the Messenger of Allah made it Haram’ …”

Musnad Ahmad – Ahmad bin Hanbal // Volume 38 // Page 25 – 26 // Number 22941 // Edn. Risalah Al-Alamiyyah Beriut Lebanon.

As this narration clearly shows that Muawiyah took a forbidden drink. Ahl u Sunnah scholars try to hide it and one such attempt was done by Nur u deem Al-Haythami (Died 807 AH). He dared to openly write down that he cropped it out of Narration by saying : 

رواه أحمد ورجاله رجال الصحيح، وفي كلام معاوية شيء تركته

Narrated by Ahmad and all its narrators are reliable, In it there is something in the speech of Muawiyah which i left.

Majm’u Al-Zawahid – Al-Haythami // Volume 11 // Page 99 // Number 8092 // Edn. Dar Al-Minhaj Riyadh Cairo.

In another he quoted the narration from Musnad Ahmad and left out this part from it where it is mentioned that Muawiyah drank something forbidden.

Gay’tu Al-Maqsad fi Zaw’id Musnad Ahmad – Al-Haythami // Volume 4 // Page 64 // Maktaba Bait u Salam Riyadh Saudi Arabia.