Trump Declares a 'Very Sad Day for Journalism' After Mueller Refutes BuzzFeed Story
President Donald Trump on Saturday responded scornfully to allegations from BuzzFeed News that he had ordered his former attorney to lie to Congress.
In an article published Thursday, BuzzFeed alleged that Trump ordered Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a development project the Trump Organization had proposed in Moscow, citing “two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.”
The allegation was later refuted by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Trump has long denied there was any collusion.
“BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate,” Mueller spokesman Peter Carr said in a statement, according to the Washington Examiner.
BuzzFeed, however, stood by its report.
“We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he’s disputing,” the website’s editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, said in a statement Friday.
Trump noted Saturday that this is not the first time BuzzFeed has published information that was later discredited.
“Remember it was Buzzfeed that released the totally discredited “Dossier,” paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats (as opposition research), on which the entire Russian probe is based! A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!” Trump tweeted.
Remember it was Buzzfeed that released the totally discredited “Dossier,” paid for by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats (as opposition research), on which the entire Russian probe is based! A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2019
Much of the dossier, which made unverified allegations about Trump, was later demonstrated to be inaccurate.
Trump also noted that BuzzFeed’s latest allegations received wide traction in the mainstream media despite the fact that they were inaccurate.
Many people are saying that the Mainstream Media will have a very hard time restoring credibility because of the way they have treated me over the past 3 years (including the election lead-up), as highlighted by the disgraceful Buzzfeed story & the even more disgraceful coverage!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2019
Trump was not the only one to push back against the allegations and their swift repetition in the media.
This is just the most egregious example of the rampant unfairness that has tainted this partisan witch-hunt from the beginning. The utter hatred for @realDonaldTrump has empowered a legion of back stabbers wielding flamboyant falsehoods to undermine @POTUS.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) January 19, 2019
I can’t speak to Buzzfeed’s sourcing, but, for what it’s worth, I declined to run with parts of the narrative they conveyed based on a source central to the story repeatedly disputing the idea that Trump directly issued orders of that kind.
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 19, 2019
Breaking Wind from CNN! Buzzfeed will change it’s name to “Buzzard Feed” because it proudly stands by its discredited, un-sourced, and utterly laughable Fake News about @realDonaldTrump so even after rebuke by Mueller it eats dead, rotted flesh of the roadkill of their story.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) January 19, 2019
Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s attorney, has called for the Justice Department to investigate.
Now the DOJ must reveal the leakers of this false BuzzFeed story which the press and Democrats gleefully embraced. And maybe House Dems should wait to investigate until the Mueller report is filed. 4 have started already.There may be nothing to legitimately investigate.
— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) January 19, 2019
“Now the DOJ must reveal the leakers of this false BuzzFeed story which the press and Democrats gleefully embraced. And maybe House Dems should wait to investigate until the Mueller report is filed. 4 have started already. There may be nothing to legitimately investigate,” he tweeted.
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