CNN: Cohen Says Trump Knew of Trump Tower Meeting in Advance
CNN reported, citing sources, that Michael Cohen was prepared to tell Mueller that Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians.

Advance knowledge would have tied Trump personally to the campaign's Russia contact.
What was reported
CNN reported, citing sources, that Michael Cohen was prepared to tell Mueller that Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians.
What actually happened
A month later Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, admitted he had been a source and said Cohen had no information showing Trump knew beforehand; CNN said it stood by its multi-sourced story. CNN's own report had noted Cohen lacked corroborating evidence. The Mueller report found no documentary evidence that Trump was told of the meeting beforehand, though it noted Cohen recalled hearing something of the kind.
The proof
Lanny Davis's on-record walk-back, and the Mueller report's finding of no documentary evidence of Trump's advance knowledge.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
CNN: Cohen Says Trump Knew of Trump Tower Meeting in Advance — Unproven. Lanny Davis's on-record walk-back, and the Mueller report's finding of no documentary evidence of Trump's advance knowledge. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/cnn-cohen-trump-knew-trump-tower-meeting/
Original reporting
- CNN transcript, July 26, 2018: Sciutto reports Cohen's claimhttps://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1807/26/CPT.01.html
- KSL (CNN wire): Cohen claims Trump knew in advance of 2016 Trump Tower meetinghttps://www.ksl.com/article/news/us/cohen-claims-trump-knew-in-advance-of-2016-trump-tower-meeting/46367272
Corrections, findings & records
- CNN: Lanny Davis backtracks; CNN stands by its storyhttps://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/08/28/politics/lanny-davis-trump-tower-michael-cohen/index.html
- Mediaite: Lanny Davis says CNN's anonymous sources were wronghttps://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump/cohen-attorney-lanny-davis-cnns-anonymous-sources-were-wrong-about-trump-tower-claim/
- Euronews/NBC: Mueller report finds no evidence Trump knew of meetinghttps://www.euronews.com/2019/04/18/mueller-report-no-evidence-trump-knew-about-trump-tower-meeting-n995816
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: CNN transcript, July 26, 2018: Sciutto reports Cohen's claimhttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1807/26/CPT.01.html
- Archived copy: KSL (CNN wire): Cohen claims Trump knew in advance of 2016 Trump Tower meetinghttps://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.ksl.com/article/news/us/cohen-claims-trump-knew-in-advance-of-2016-trump-tower-meeting/46367272