Trump slams bombshell report that claimed he told Cohen to LIE to Congress after Mueller's office issued extraordinary DENIAL saying the story was 'not accurate', sparking the president to call it 'a great day for our country!'

  • The special counsel's office issued a public statement disputing the accuracy of a news report saying Trump told his personal attorney Cohen to lie to Congress
  • The statement by Robert Mueller's office on Friday night doesn't cite any specific errors 
  • Shortly after the statement was released Friday evening Trump retweeted a tweet which said: 'Sadly so many will never get the memo that it was fake!'
  • Later the president tweeted that it was a 'very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!' while slamming the news outlet 
  • Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, issued a statement saying 'We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it'

The office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller has called the bombshell BuzzFeed report claiming President Donald Trump told his former lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress false, and Trump has also fired back.

'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!' he posted late Friday night. 

'A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!'

He then followed that up by tweeting: 'Fake News is truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!'

The President's response comes after the special counsel's office issued a rare public statement disputing the accuracy of the news report saying that Trump told his personal attorney Cohen to lie to Congress.  

The special counsel's spokesman Peter Carr says: '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'. 

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President Trump called the story a 'disgrace 

President Trump speaks during a Missile Defense Review announcement at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday 

The President made a direct comment regarding the allegation that BuzzFeed was not entirely accurate in their reporting late Friday night

The President made a direct comment regarding the allegation that BuzzFeed was not entirely accurate in their reporting late Friday night

President Trump has repeatedly used the phrases 'fake news' and  'enemy of the people' to reference unfavorable coverage in the mainstream press

President Trump has repeatedly used the phrases 'fake news' and  'enemy of the people' to reference unfavorable coverage in the mainstream press

Meanwhile Ben Smith, editor-in-chief at BuzzFeed, tweeted: 'In response to the statement tonight from the Special Counsel's spokesman: We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he's disputing.' 

Making his way around to CNN's Anderson Cooper, Smith further requested clarification from the special counsel's office and defended his reporters, Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier.

'We're really confident in these specific sources and in the stories these reporters told,' Smith said after referencing two unidentified law enforcement officials from the original story that reported Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress about the Moscow real estate project.

Smith also called into MSNBC to speak with Chris Hayes saying 'the special counsel issued this very vague statement, we are eager to know what he's talking about'. 

The statement by Robert Mueller's office on Friday night doesn't cite any specific errors.  

Ben Smith, editor-in-chief at BuzzFeed, tweeted: 'In response to the statement tonight from the Special Counsel's spokesman: We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he's disputing'

Ben Smith, editor-in-chief at BuzzFeed, tweeted: 'In response to the statement tonight from the Special Counsel's spokesman: We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he's disputing'

BuzzFeed themselves posted the Peter Carr statement from the special counsel's office refuting their bombshell story

BuzzFeed themselves posted the Peter Carr statement from the special counsel's office refuting their bombshell story

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office called the BuzzFeed story on Cohen lying on behalf of Trump 'inaccurate'

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office called the BuzzFeed story on Cohen lying on behalf of Trump 'inaccurate'

Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed is pictured
The story was co-written by Jason Leopold (pictured)

Ben Smith (left), editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed is sticking by the story co-written by Jason Leopold (right) and asking for clarification for what Mueller's office is disputing

Trump had earlier Friday evening spent several hours retweeting several supporters. 

Shortly after the statement from Mueller's office was released Trump retweeted: 'Sadly so many will never get the memo that it was fake!'  

Buzzfeed's bombshell report claimed the president directed Cohen to lie in his testimony to Congress about a Trump Organization tower deal in Moscow that continued through the summer of 2016. 

The president also retweeted the Newsmax host John Cardillo saying: 'I told you all that the BuzzFeed story was nonsense.'  

President Trump goes on retweeting marathon after Mueller statement on BuzzFeed 

President Trump begun a barrage of retweets after Mueller's statement before addressing the Buzzfeed article directly.

He retweeted Newsmax host John Cardillo as the story broke. Cardillo had tweeted his skepticism about the BuzzFeed report prior to this development

He retweeted Newsmax host John Cardillo as the story broke. Cardillo had tweeted his skepticism about the BuzzFeed report prior to this development

Trump then moved on to retweet Dan Bongino, former Secret Service agent and current podcaster who linked his own post about BuzzFeed

Trump then moved on to retweet Dan Bongino, former Secret Service agent and current podcaster who linked his own post about BuzzFeed

Breaking from the BuzzFeed story, Trump retweeted a post by his former deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka from nearly two years ago showing his inauguration

Breaking from the BuzzFeed story, Trump retweeted a post by his former deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka from nearly two years ago showing his inauguration

Back to Bongino, the president retweeted another favorite talking point that the real scandal was how his former opponent and predecessor behaved 

Then he posted another Bongino link, this time asserting his approval rating has increased with Latinos during the current government shutdown

Then he posted another Bongino link, this time asserting his approval rating has increased with Latinos during the current government shutdown

Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager for the 2020 presidential election, retweeted the fired-up eldest son of Donald Trump criticizing the media in general

Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager for the 2020 presidential election, retweeted the fired-up eldest son of Donald Trump criticizing the media in general

Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee chairwoman, was retweeted questioning the methods the BuzzFeed reporters utilized

Ronna McDaniel, Republican National Committee chairwoman, was retweeted questioning the methods the BuzzFeed reporters utilized

The president then retweeted a fan posting a thank-you to God and a meme of the figure of Uncle Sam kneeling in prayer

The president then retweeted a fan posting a thank-you to God and a meme of the figure of Uncle Sam kneeling in prayer

Trump then posted a video with the snow backdrop of the White House making his case for a border wall again, the main sticking point in the government shutdown fight

Trump then posted a video with the snow backdrop of the White House making his case for a border wall again, the main sticking point in the government shutdown fight

Returning to the matter of BuzzFeed, Trump retweeted co-founder of Students for Trump that expresses his opinion on what journalism 'isn't'

Returning to the matter of BuzzFeed, Trump retweeted co-founder of Students for Trump that expresses his opinion on what journalism 'isn't'

Retweeting another supporter, Trump again returns to the topic of fake news

Retweeting another supporter, Trump again returns to the topic of fake news

This supporter who was retweeted appears to make an argument specifically dealing with the Trump Tower project in Moscow investigated by BuzzFeed

This supporter who was retweeted appears to make an argument specifically dealing with the Trump Tower project in Moscow investigated by BuzzFeed

 It was at this point that President Trump issued his first direct response to the special counsel's dispute with the BuzzFeed story on Twitter before going on to retweet twice more and cap off the night with a final direct tweet

Geraldo River was the last personality to get retweeted by President Trump expressing his own defense of the president and disdain for his detractors

Geraldo River was the last personality to get retweeted by President Trump expressing his own defense of the president and disdain for his detractors

 

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Nicknamed the 'FOIA Terrorist,' Jason Leopold's colorful journalism career 

Jason Leopold is the senior investigative journalist for BuzzFeed who has worked with Anthony Cormier reporting on the Trump Tower Moscow project.

He earned the nickname 'FOIA Terrorist' on Twitter due to a reputation for breaking stories from information found in Freedom of Information Act submissions.

Leopold previously worked for or contributed to VICE News, Al Jazeera, The Guardian,  LA Times, Truthout.org and Salon. 

In 2006 he wrote a book that detailed his battle with mental illness and suicide attempts, and also lying to employers about a larceny conviction on his record once.

With BuzzFeed standing by the article, Leopold and Cormier are still heading the Trump/Russia beat.

  • 2006 - Leopold working for Truthout.org reported Karl Rove's indictment over the Valerie Plame affair was 'imminent' but the Bush staffer never faced any charges  
  • 2002 - Salon.com removed a story Leopold wrote as a freelancer saying it was 'riddled with inaccuracies and misrepresentations' while also saying the piece contained 'an instance of plagiarism' 

 

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Then he also drew attention to podcaster Dan Bongino's commentary, 'We called it. FAKE NEWS! "More Buzzfeed B.S."' 

He goes on to retweet Sebastian Gorka posting a photo of Trump's inauguration, and podcaster Bongino asserting Trump's job approval among Latinos is up during the government shutdown. 

Earlier, New Yorker reporter Ronan Farrow had tweeted his own misgivings about the BuzzFeed story, writing: '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.'

CNN also written previously that the former Los Angeles Times, Dow Jones, and Vice News reporter Leopold had a 'checkered past' when it came to accuracy of his reports during the George W. Bush administration, prior to the Mueller office statement. 

Leopold's investigative partner, Anthony Cormier, however, was a member of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team in 2016 at the Tampa Bay Times prior to joining BuzzFeed. He collaborated on an investigative series into the neglected mental health system in Florida. He joined BuzzFeed's investigative unit shortly afterwards.

The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., meanwhile, has been gleefully firing off tweets about the news outlet retweeting the Mueller office rebuttal with nothing but a series of 'crying laughing' emojis, and retweeting another post that had made the statement that either Trump is finished or BuzzFeed is with the comment 'You were saying??' 

Since the statement put out by Mueller's office, the President's eldest son Donald Trump Jr has been tweeting and retweeting rapidly taking shots at BuzzFeed and other media outlets reporting around the story including The Daily Beast and CNN. 

Buzzfeed's report, if true, would constitute subornation of perjury – a felony crime. 

Obstruction of justice was the first order of impeachment against President Richard Nixon. 

Trump blasted his former lawyer and fixer Cohen on Friday as a liar who was 'trying to reduce his jail time' when he reportedly told Mueller that a scheme to build a Trump Tower project in Moscow extended through the 2016 Republican National Convention and into the months before Trump became president-elect.

Anthony Cormier, shown, is the investigative partner on the Trump Tower story with Jason Leopold at BuzzFeed

Anthony Cormier, shown, is the investigative partner on the Trump Tower story with Jason Leopold at BuzzFeed

Since the statement put out by Mueller's office, the President's eldest son Donald Trump Jr has been tweeting and retweeting rapidly taking shots at BuzzFeed and other media outlets reporting around the story including The Daily Beast and CNN

Since the statement put out by Mueller's office, the President's eldest son Donald Trump Jr has been tweeting and retweeting rapidly taking shots at BuzzFeed and other media outlets reporting around the story including The Daily Beast and CNN

Michael Cohen arrives home to his apartment in New York City. The longtime Trump lawyer appeared to have his arm in a sling and had a pillow on top of his arm

Michael Cohen arrives home to his apartment in New York City. The longtime Trump lawyer appeared to have his arm in a sling and had a pillow on top of his arm

Earlier Friday Cohen returned to his Manhattan apartment Friday after getting medical treatment – with his arm appearing to be in a sling. 

Cohen advisor Lanny Davis said Cohen had gone into the hospital for pre-scheduled shoulder surgery. 

Cohen could be seen with his left arm covered, hanging in a sling. He was holding a full-size white pillow against his body. His right hand had a small bandage of the kind used to cover a small wound by an IV. 

He also wore a red identification bracelet of the kind distributed by hospitals.