The special counsel charged with investigating Russian collusion rejected allegations published by the US news company. The report claimed Donald Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress.
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The office of US special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday disputed a report by American news site Buzzfeed alleging President Donald Trump had instructed his longtime lawyer and confidant, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress.
"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" said special counsel spokesman Peter Carr in a statement.
The dispute is a rare move by Mueller's office. In the contested article, Buzzfeed cited two unnamed "federal law enforcement officials" who were allegedly familiar with Cohen's testimony. The New York-based news company claimed Trump had instructed Cohen to lie "about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow."
But Buzzfeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith hit back, saying: "We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he's disputing."
After retweeting a barrage of comments rejecting the Buzzfeed report by conservative allies, Trump wrote in a tweet that it was "a very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our country!" He later described so-called "fake news" as the "enemy of the people."
Robert Mueller is a former FBI directorImage: picture-alliance/AP Images/J. Scott Applewhite
'Dirty deeds'
Last month, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in making illegal hush payments to two women and lying to Congress about the proposed Trump Tower project in Russia. While asking for leniency in court, he said: "It was my duty to cover up (Trump's) dirty deeds."
Cohen had first told Mueller's office and Congress that negotiations for the Trump Tower project in Moscow had ended in January 2016. However, he later admitted that they had stretched into June 2016, after Trump had received the Republican nomination for the presidency.
Mueller's office is investigating whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to win the presidency.
Lawyer Michael Cohen once was a man who would "take a bullet" for US President Donald Trump. After pleading guilty in a New York court, he may now implicate the American president in campaign finance violations.
Image: Reuters/J. Rosenberg
Take a bullet for Trump
For years, Michael Cohen described himself as being staunchly loyal to President Trump, going as far as saying that he would "take a bullet" for him. But according to <i>The New York Times</i>, Trump treated Cohen "poorly, with gratuitous insults, dismissive statements and, at least twice, threats of being fired."
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Hush money
In February, Cohen (middle) admitted to paying $130,000 (about €112,000) to porn star Stormy Daniels (right) to keep quiet about an affair she had with Trump (right). Prosecutors had been trying to ascertain whether Cohen violated any campaign-finance laws by making the payment ahead of 2016 election.
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FBI raid
In April, FBI agents raided Cohen's office, apartment and hotel room on a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in swaying the 2016 presidential election. They took away millions of electronic files from his various devices and reams of documents, including pieces of paper from a shredder.
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You're fired!
In June, Trump said Cohen was no longer his attorney, adding that he hadn't spoken to him in a long time. Trump's new attorney Rudy Giuliani had said earlier that Cohen was not representing the US president after the FBI raids on his home and office.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Kamm
Public break up
In July, Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, released a secret audio recording in which Trump was seemingly heard admitting to knowledge of a hush-money payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with him. It was Cohen, who had made the recording that Trump said was "perhaps illegal."
Image: Reuters/B. McDermid
Plea deal
On Tuesday, Trump's former fixer entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to tax and bank fraud charges and campaign finance violations.
