Mueller's office disputing Buzzfeed report, without specifics

WASHINGTON (AP)

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s office on today issued a rare public statement disputing the accuracy of BuzzFeed News’ report that said President Donald Trump’s attorney told Mueller that the president directed him to lie to Congress.

BuzzFeed, citing two unidentified law enforcement officials, reported that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate project and that Cohen told Mueller that Trump personally instructed him to lie about the timing of the project. 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 then acknowledged Trump’s instructions when he was interviewed by the Mueller team.

The statement by Mueller’s office tonight doesn’t cite any specific errors. In it, the special counsel’s spokesman, Peter Carr, said, “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.”

BuzzFeed spokesman Matt Mittenthal said the publication stands by its reporting and urged readers to “stay tuned” as they worked to determine what Mueller was denying. Ben Smith, editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, also said the publication stands by its reporting and the sources who informed it.

“We urge the special counsel to make clear what he’s disputing,” Smith said.