In a photo taken Wednesday, June 21, 2017, Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the election and possible connection to the Trump campaign, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office has released a statement concerning the explosive report released by BuzzFeed News last night.
The statement, posted by BuzzFeed, says that the characterization of the information in the story is “not accurate.”
UPDATE: A spokesperson for the special counsel is disputing BuzzFeed News’ report. https://t.co/BEoMKiDypn pic.twitter.com/GWWfGtyhaE
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) January 19, 2019
BuzzFeed’s original story, which claimed that Mueller’s office had evidence President Donald Trump ordered former attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, cited two unnamed sources and featured information not previously reported on by any other major outlet.
BuzzFeed News, and editor Ben Smith, have stood by the reporting in the piece and defending their work, along with the work of one of the piece’s co-authors, Jason Leopold, who’s history of journalism scandals – including writing a piece saying Karl Rove was going to be indicted – came under fire from RedState and CNN, among other outlets.
Michael Cohen’s attorneys and the White House have stayed silent on the subject of the report, and multiple Democratic politicians gave measured responses to the news.
It is unclear if BuzzFeed will alter, correct, or retract the story.
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