BuzzFeed: Trump 'directed' Cohen to lie to Congress
■ The claim
Citing two federal law enforcement officials, BuzzFeed News reported that President Trump personally directed his lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations, and that the special counsel had learned this from witnesses and documents.
■ What actually happened
The next evening the Special Counsel's Office, through spokesman Peter Carr, said BuzzFeed's description of specific statements and evidence was not accurate, a rare public rebuttal. The April 2019 Mueller report found the evidence did not establish that Trump directed or aided Cohen's false testimony, and it recorded Cohen saying Trump did not tell him to lie. BuzzFeed added an update and an editor's note acknowledging Mueller's conclusion. It did not formally retract the story.
■ The proof
Special Counsel's Office statement of Jan. 18, 2019, and the Mueller report, Vol. II, p. 153 (PDF p. 365).
■ Original reporting
- BuzzFeed News: original story (Leopold & Cormier)https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/trump-russia-cohen-moscow-tower-mueller-investigation
- BuzzFeed News: Morning Update summarizing the claimhttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/brandonhardin/morning-update-president-trump-directed-his-attorney-to-lie
■ Corrections, findings & records
- CNN: Mueller's office disputes BuzzFeed reporthttps://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/18/politics/mueller-statement-buzzfeed
- PBS NewsHour: Special counsel disputes accuracy of BuzzFeed reporthttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/special-counsel-disputes-accuracy-of-buzzfeed-report-on-trump-cohen
- Mueller report (justice.gov), Vol. II p. 153https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/dl
- NBC News: Disputed BuzzFeed story back in limelight after Mueller reporthttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/disputed-buzzfeed-story-trump-cohen-back-limelight-after-mueller-report-n996131
- TheWrap: BuzzFeed updates story after Mueller reporthttps://www.thewrap.com/buzzfeed-finally-updates-story-that-claimed-trump-directed-michael-cohen-to-lie-to-congress/
■ Wayback Machine copies
Stories sometimes get edited after publication. These links open the Internet Archive's earliest snapshot of each original.
- Archive copy: BuzzFeed News: original story (Leopold & Cormier)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/trump-russia-cohen-moscow-tower-mueller-investigation
- Archive copy: BuzzFeed News: Morning Update summarizing the claimhttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/brandonhardin/morning-update-president-trump-directed-his-attorney-to-lie
■ Grade
DEBUNKED: Shown false by evidence or official findings, whether or not the outlet corrected it. How we grade →