Robert Mueller’s issued a rare public statement disputing the accuracy of BuzzFeed’s report that Trump’s former attorney was directed to lie to Congress.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office has issued a rare public statement disputing the accuracy of BuzzFeed News’ report that President Donald Trump’s former attorney told Mueller that Trump directed the lawyer to lie to Congress.
“It was a total phony story and I appreciate the special counsel coming out with a statement last night. I think it was very appropriate that they did so,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday.
BuzzFeed, citing two unidentified law enforcement officials, reported that Trump directed lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate project and that Cohen told Mueller the president personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the deal.
The report said Mueller’s investigators learned about Trump’s directive “through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents.”
The report said Cohen acknowledged Trump’s instructions when he was interviewed by the Mueller team.
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The statement by Mueller’s office on Friday night doesn’t cite any specific errors.
