2016 ELECTION/MEDIA/MICHAEL COHEN/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a rare public statement, special counsel Robert Mueller’s office on Friday [1-18-19] disputed a blockbuster report from BuzzFeed News that alleged President Donald Trump directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie in his testimony before Congress. Despite worldwide coverage and intense interest, Mueller’s office has stayed mostly quiet on reports regarding the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But on Friday, Mueller’s office took the rare step of calling BuzzFeed’s story “not accurate’…The BuzzFeed report alleged that Trump instructed Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Organization’s pursuit of a deal to build a luxury residential high-rise in the center of Moscow, hoping to conceal these actions during his presidential bid. The story also asserted that Mueller’s office knew of the president’s alleged actions after obtaining information through internal emails, text messages and multiple interviews.”
–Christal Hayes and Kevin Johnson, “Mueller’s office disputes BuzzFeed story about Trump directing Cohen’s false testimony,” USA Today, January 18, 2019 10:23 pm