After several remarks and tweets from President Trump, the White House, and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, not actually debunking BuzzFeed News' reporting that the president directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress, Giuliani finally has issued a denial.
"Any suggestion — from any source — that the President counseled Michael Cohen to lie is categorically false. Michael Cohen is a convicted criminal and a liar. To quote the prosecutors, he has traded 'on a pattern of lies and dishonesty over an extended period of time' and for that 'he is going to pay a very, very serious price.' Today's claims are just more made-up lies born of Michael Cohen's malice and desperation, in an effort to reduce his sentence."
However, BuzzFeed News makes clear its reporting and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's findings are not reliant on Cohen's word.
The special counsel’s office learned about Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie to Congress through interviews with multiple witnesses from the Trump Organization and internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents. Cohen then acknowledged those instructions during his interviews with that office.
Giuliani's first reaction when BuzzFeed News' story broke last night was to attack Cohen's credibility, ignoring the fact that the story was independently reported.
This morning, White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley avoided issuing a direct denial on Fox News in spite of being given multiple opportunities to do so. Instead, Gidley called news outlets unreliable, said the premise of the story is ridiculous, and accused Cohen of being a liar.
President Trump's only response has been via tweet. He chose to attack Cohen and his father-in-law, a man who is not accused of any crime.
The suggestion Cohen is lying now to reduce his jail time makes no sense because Cohen already has been sentenced and will serve three years starting in March.
Giuliani denies report that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress (Axios)
President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project (BuzzFeed News)