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BuzzFeed News investigative journalist Anthony Cormier did not explain on Sunday why his colleague, Jason Leopold, reportedly claimed to have seen documents proving that President Trump had ordered his former lawyer, Michael Cohen , to lie to Congress, thus contradicting Cormier's insistence that he would not have seen it personally.
"We can not go into details," said Cormier, sitting next to BuzzFeed News editor Ben Smith at CNN's "Reliable Sources" host Brian Stelter.
Leopold did not attend the interview, which sometimes became tense when Stelter openly criticized BuzzFeed's journalistic practices. Smith said Leopold, who had been out of public view since Friday, was busy "reporting."
Leopold was involved in numerous scandals during his career related to his false reports, including one in 2002 for Salon.com on Enron. that the point of sale declared "rife with inaccuracies and misrepresentations", and another incorrect story in 2006 for Truthout.org regarding alleged indictments against George W.'s former advisor. Bush, Karl Rove.
Cormier and Leopold wrote an explosive report Thursday, citing two law enforcement officials allegedly saying that Cohen had acknowledged to the special advocate Mueller's office that Trump had told him to lie to Congress about a possible real estate deal in Moscow, saying the negotiations had ended several months before concealing Trump's involvement. 19659003] The article, which urged Democrats to call for Trump's removal from office if it was true, claimed that Cohen's testimony "marks a significant new frontier: It's the first known example where Trump explicitly tells a subordinate to lie directly about his own relations with Russia. "
But Mueller publishes his first public statement for over a year to repudiate the BuzzFeed report the next day. The Washington Post has since reported that Mueller meant in his rare denial that the story was "almost entirely inaccurate" and that the special attorney 's office had immediately examined the evidence to determine whether he was "in the dark" or not. there were documents or hearings of witnesses similar to those described previously. to those who thought that they might have an interest in the case. They did not find any. "
In an interview Friday, Cormier told CNN," No, I did not see him personally, "when he was asked if he had seen the documents. the article – including "internal emails to the company, SMS and a cache of other documents" – that allegedly showed Trump that he had told Cohen to lie
Cormier only asserted that the two sources he quoted were "fully, 100 percent read to this aspect of the special council inquiry. "
" We can not go into details, like here. "
However, Leopold, speaking separately to MSNBC, remarked that" I do not think we said we had not seen [the documents] "and stated:" I will say that we have seen documents and have been informed. "
Since then, Leopold hinted that he meant to say that he saw the documents, but that Cormier did not say to Mediaite: "Yes. Anthony stated that he had not personally seen the documents. "
BuzzFeed did not identify the documents, but only stated that he adhered to his statements, without giving further details.
TRUMP SAYS THAT THE DECLARATION OF RARE OF HIS APPRECIATE IS OF RARE. BUZZFEED REPUDIATING REPORT
"As we have reconfirmed our reports, we have found no indication that any specific aspect of our story is inaccurate, we remain confident in what we have reported and we are will share more, as far as we can, "BuzzFeed said in a statement.
Cormier added in the interview granted to Stelter on Sunday: "I have a new confirmation that it is true.We are told to stay on our positions … The same sources we used
Bizarrely, Smith and Cormier also acknowledged that they were unaware of the precise language that Trump would have used to order Cohen to lie.
"We are anxious to understand. speak, and we obviously take this extremely seriously, "added Smith.
Cormier also suggested not being fired for writing the report discredited because he had been working in the newspaper industry for over 20 years and had "skills" that helped him guess accurate information from misleading sources.
"The same basic principles that I've learned in covering the city hall, the police, the courthouses – what still exists today. I use these same skills, the same rigor to cover the White House.That will be confirmed.This story is accurate, "said Cormier.
Asked about Mueller's reprimand, Cormier replied, "Never good."
At one point in the interview, Stelter explained Leopold's brief request for comment to the team. Special advocate Robert Mueller. just hours before the publication of the story. "But go, a paragraph?" Stelter asked. "It's a failure to send an e-mail in three sentences."
Leopold wrote to the spokesman for the special council Thursday afternoon: "Peter, I hope everything is all right, Anthony and I have an article in which we would learn that President Trump himself had asked to Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about his negotiations on the Trump Moscow project .. Do not assume anything on your behalf, but just want to check in. Best, Jason. "
According to the Washington Post, the Mueller team has since implied that it would have offered more than a mere "no comment" if Leopold had set out further details in his request for comment on the allegation that Trump would have ordered Cohen to lie.
Smith countered that the Mueller team had not been coming. "He could have said," It's quite a statement. Tell me more, "said Smith.
But Stelter reacted by arguing that it was not Mueller's responsibility.
" But you give him the charge, I please, Jason and I, Stelter retorted. "I'm afraid that in this case there was not enough requests for comments or sufficiently detailed conversations with the special attorney's office."
Addressing " Fox News Sunday, "Vice President Pence has decried" the obsession of many people in the national media to attack this president for whatever reason, for any allegation "and claimed that the problem was more serious as BuzzFeed.
"It is remarkable to note what we have seen happen for 24 hours in the media, based on the report in BuzzFeed," said Pence at anchor Chris Wallace. This is one of the reasons why the national media are so frustrated by the frustration that people are arousing. "
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But, to talk later to "Fox News Sunday", South The Democratic representative of the Caroline, Jim Clyburn, defended the Democrats' response to the BuzzFeed report, including some who called for Trump's dismissal if the story turned out to be accurate.
"I do not think my Democratic friends rush to judge because they qualified right from the start [by saying]" If that's right, "argued Clyburn." When you start your statement with "If that is true, "it gives me all the coverage you need."
On Sunday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the Democrats would conduct an "absolute" investigation of the report. despite Mueller's statement.
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