BuzzFeed Remains ‘100 Percent Behind’ Report Disputed By Mueller

BuzzFeed is insisting on the accuracy of a recent article disputed by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, which reported that President Trump asked Michael Cohen lie to Congress about their efforts to develop a Trump Tower Moscow.

“We’re being told to stand our ground. Our reporting is going to be borne out to be accurate, and we’re 100 percent behind it,” Anthony Cormier, one of two investigative reporters who worked on the story, told CNN in a Sunday interview.

Cormier, who was joined by BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith, said that the months-long reporting process involved “rigorous” vetting. The two anonymous federal law enforcement officials who served as BuzzFeed’s sources are “standing behind” their information, Cormier said.

The report, which detailed alleged conduct that Trump’s own attorney general nominee suggested would have constituted obstruction of justice by the president, dominated the news cycle on Friday. But on Friday evening, Mueller’s typically press-shy office released a rare statement taking issue with the story.

“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,” Mueller spokesman Peter Carr said.

The statement did not specify which aspects of BuzzFeed’s article are “not accurate.”

BuzzFeed’s Smith told CNN he is “eager” to find that out, and that Jason Leopold, the other reporter behind the story, submitted a Freedom of Information Act requesting details on how the statement from Mueller’s office came together.