The rare public statement by a spokesman for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, challenged the facts of an article published by BuzzFeed News on Thursday evening saying that Mr. Cohen had told prosecutors about being pressured by the president before his congressional testimony.Never mind. How embarrassing for the Trump haters. I didn't even write about the Buzzfeed story myself. I'm so jaded about the latest impeachment bait.
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,” said the spokesman, Peter Carr.
The Buzzfeed report led to a flurry of statements by senior members of Congress before Mr. Carr’s statement who said that the allegations, if true, could be grounds for initiating impeachment proceedings against Mr. Trump....
January 18, 2019
"Mueller Statement Disputes Report That Trump Directed Cohen to Lie."
The NYT reports.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
172 comments:
Lucy jerks the ball away.....again.
So it was fake news again? Say it ain't so.
The New York Timea reports? LOL.
Fiction reporting on fiction.
If you want a good DVD rental, Equalizer 2 was exceptional.
It always beggared belief. To swallow the original story, you’d have to accept that Trump would personally suborn perjury from Cohen AFTER he had announced he was cooperating with the Mueller investigation. Sounds to me like some leakers are being smoked out.
Buzzfeed got burned by their sources. They need to out them.
Lifelong Buzzfeed Smear Ally Chuck hardest hit.
As always.
im·peach
/imˈpēCH
verb
call into question the integrity or validity of [BuzzFeed News, CNN, MSNBC,...].
Did Mueller make statement due to pending AG Barr? Why now? Curious.
To swallow the original story...
After reading this, I went to the original Buzzfeed story and saw that it was from Jason Leopold. He's the cokehead that reported on Truthout that Karl Rove was going to be indicted in 24 hours.
After that didn't happen, he amended it to 24 business hours. Even making up that phrase didn't help him. As far as I know, Rove is still unindicted.
This should be the last we ever hear of/from Jason Leopold.
If the only “proof” for this is the word of admitted liar Mr. Cohen, it’s a nullity. I doubt very much it would allow an impeachment proceeding to gain traction.
If there were any more evidence than that, Cohen wouldn’t have been turned over to the SDNY investigation, and would have been made to plead to the same offense as part of his plea-bargain.
This morning CNN was absolutely giddy over this story.
impeachment porn
Liberal media and liberal political leadership are assholes.
They could have said it was from felix sater, but the report accomplished its goal to prompt have Schiff schedule a hearing.
Putin interfered.
Morning Joe and Mika Brezinski hardest hit—lucky for them they have the long weekend to recover from their disappointment.
They will never ever recover from TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.
You can't embarrass a Trump hater. They are very resilient that way.
Stand by for the next incoming sh!tbomb, probably on Monday.
Brian: "Buzzfeed got burned by their sources. They need to out them."
Its possible Buzzfeed simply conjured this story up out of nowhere to take one for the team.
Bruce Ohrs leaked testimony under oath demolishes the lefties/dems/LLR's lies about what the FBI and DOJ knew about the hoax-dem/LLR dossier.
Completely.
Utterly.
Schiffs lies, which dripped like honey onto the outstretched tongues of the Ingas/PPPT's/LLR Chuck's of the world have just been blown out of the water.....
....but what was discussed today, on all the lefty/LLR Resistance channels heading into a long weekend?
OMG Trump committed clear felonies and will go to jail!!!
That message rocketed around the world at full volume and I guarantee that no dems/LLR's will even pay attention to the unprecedented Special Counsel smackdown.
Of course, the smackdown ONLY occurred because Barr will be stepping in soon.
Barr's ascension and rosensteins departure mean Muellers Madcap Team Of Angry Dems can no longer just let these astonishing LLR Chuck-like smears hang in the ether without being refuted.
Particularly now that Muellers ginned up pack of innuendo and dem BS and 2020 taxpayer-funded dem oppo research will be issued soon.
Martha: "Morning Joe and Mika Brezinski hardest hit—lucky for them they have the long weekend to recover from their disappointment."
I would caution you about criticizing the insane lefties on MSNBC too much.
Thats one of LLR Chuck's premiere "go to" sources for the lefty narratives he pushes each day and he has a tendency to become quite ugly and potentially violent when the lies of the left are exposed.
Dickin'Bimbos@Home said...
"impeachment porn"
And impeachment blue balls.
The only times that buzzfeed got a solid scoop re Russia was because their spunky reporter was sleeping with her source, the one who was given a slap on the wrist.
"Barr's ascension and rosensteins departure mean Muellers Madcap Team Of Angry Dems can no longer just let these astonishing LLR Chuck-like smears hang in the ether without being refuted."
My understanding is that Mueller will have to share everything about the investigation with Barr if asked. Is that correct?
Joy Behar just dropped her fuzzy navel.
Ouch!
Pacwest: "My understanding is that Mueller will have to share everything about the investigation with Barr if asked. Is that correct?"
Yes, because unlike the LLR Chuck fake conservative "failure theatre" surrender monkeys Barr refuses to recuse even though I guarantee within 5 minutes of his taking the oath of office the obama holdovers in the OPR will suddenly leak a report that Barr should recuse.
Guar-an-teed.
Barr will be over-seeing this DNC/Stasi-dems/LLR Operation Hillary Cover-up/Frame Trump "op".
I like Buzzfeed’s statement in response; they have challenged Mueller’s office to be clear about exactly what it is that they got wrong. Ben Smith of Buzzfeed says that they have checked back with their sources since publication and they remain solid.
I love Mueller and his team, but it certainly isn’t a clear statement from them.
Althouse, this post of yours is one of the biggest nothingburgers you’ve ever published. I’m not in league with Buzzfeed; if they got this wrong, it’s no embarrassment and not much of a letdown for me. The work of Mueller isn’t diminished or damaged by a story that the Mueller office has disputed (however obliquely) and in which Mueller had no apparent role.
And if, on the other hand, Buzzfeed got the story substantially right, and the OSC statement turns out to have been a hypercritical quibble over some detail, then it’s no big deal. Not bad for Buzzfeed, or Mueller, but spectacularly bad for Trump.
I’m ordering the family-sized tub of popcorn and settling back with a cool beverage.
But...it was a BOMBSHELL! CBS News told me so!
I know that the alarm bells of excitement were goin' off at Meadhouse, but how about taking a second to properly use a quote in the post?
TDS (the other form) strikes.
We have come to the point in this country where the media has jumped to the point where their sourcing is false.The mistrust of the media will continue to grow as they report stories that are incorrect.Trump's Presidency has revealed in Washington the corruption and rot that exists.
Revelation is what Trump's Presidency is revealing to the American people.
This is one of those times where several different things could be true.
Cohen could have told someone that Trump instructed him to lie.
Cohen is a perjurer, and it's tough to discern when he's telling the truth or telling a lie.
Mueller (who is waiting on delivering a bombshell) wants to establish himself as a "good guy" and says Cohen is lying. This gives more weight to his subsequent, as yet unissued, report where he lays the wood to Trump.
Trump did not instruct Cohen to lie. (Possibly also truthful).
There are people saying that Cohen's story is bullshit. (Possibly also truthful).
We'll see how it all shakes out.
There's a pony somewhere under all that horseshit.
There has to be, after almost 2 years.
Buzzfeed Republican Chuck: "I’m not in league with Buzzfeed;..."
LOLOLOLOLOL
Right on cue! More left than the Lefties!!
More "smear-y" than the champions of lefty smearing!!
It just keeps getting better and better each day.
Remember folks, LLR Chuck screamed from the highest rooftops that he was only here to lie/smear Trump.
And it shows...
Damn. Trump really knows how to pick good lawyers doesn't he?
I hope Barr isn't more of the same.
Who gives a fuck about "Chuck"
Why don't you dummies get "Chuck" to set up his own blog.
Then you can battle back and forth 24/7. And spare the rest of us.
The only logical conclusion to be drawn from the last two and a half years is that the real owner of Buzzfeed, CNN, The NYT, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, etc... is one Donald J. Trump.
So there's literally no story, and the one about how khuzaimi gave skadden arps a 4.6 slap on the wrist re Ukraine is a damp squib.
rcocean: "Why don't you dummies get "Chuck" to set up his own blog."
Why dont you take the lead on that and show us how its done?
Mueller's office likely leaked the story to Buzzfeed in the first instance! Who else could have "known" that info? Maybe the AUSA of SDNY investigating Cohen.
I feel worst for Stephen Colbert. He was so ebullient. Imagine how down he'll be this weekend. Jimmy Kimmel will have a dark night of the soul too. They'll pretend to carry on as if their worlds are still intact, but we know better. To be lifted so high, then cast down so low. It's a cruel God that rules over us.
Turkish intelligence provides the passport for the manbij bomber and everyone says knee.
The comments by liberals I am reading go from "fake but true" to "Mueller is lying".
Shocking, I know.
Certainly Chuck,
If Buzzfeed got this Blockbuster story wrong, then no harm, no foul. Certainly nothing that can't be walked back, with Buzzfeed becoming a re-recognized trusted news source. The President has just been accused of suborning perjury, and if the reporters got tricked by questionable sources and neglected to check further, well, there you are. No problem. One entire days news squibs on every TV station, radio station, newspaper, twitter feed, etc. pushing a false story is a big shoulder shrug for you. I heard both Buzzfeed 'reporters' give different answers to the question of whether they had actually seen the evidence. No trouble there, except for Trump, right Chuck. Just a big 'nothingburger'. Good G*d, you've become a ridiculous figure, no wonder that you're not in 'league with Buzzfeed', they'd be embarrassed to have you I shouldn't wonder.
narciso: "So there's literally no story, and the one about how khuzaimi gave skadden arps a 4.6 slap on the wrist re Ukraine is a damp squib."
Correct.
Also the leaked Ohr testimony demolishes what is left if the LLR/DNC dossier hoax.
So Buzzfeed took one for the team and the purpose now on the part of the far far left is to keep the narrative.
Hence Chuck's comments.
They aren’t embarrassed at all. Look at the reactions, eg Ronan Farrow on Twitter, or Stelter on CNN. No sense of a rethink, of the slightest humility. They don’t learn because they don’t think there is anything to learn.
Hes a death eater rich camembert has no soul.
"Robert S. Mueller III, challenged the facts of an article published by BuzzFeed News on Thursday evening"
Obviously, Mueller has become part of the Trump/Russia Collusion.
Farrow was given one real scoop re Weinstein, which was commendable the follow up re black cube wasnt too bad, and how their information management techniques kept him out of courtroom, but the subsequent stories fell apart
Didn't we hear recently that the facts don't matter when you're morally right? Certainly seems to reflect the media's de facto standards regarding Trump, which is both why they keep falling for fake news - assuming they're not just completely making stuff up and slapping an anonymous source in the copy for plausible deniability - and why they never seem to care that they've been had.
On the plus side, AOC has all the qualifications needed to join CNN/WaPo/NYT should she wish to take her activism there.
They are poisoning the well re any political or legal procedure going forward.
If Mueller is going to deny inaccurate reports, you can find out what he has by reporting possibilities.
(eaglebeak)
Among the many things that made me suspicious about the story from the get-go was the reference to emails and texts.
From whom?
Couldn't be from Trump because he has never sent emails and has never sent texts.
So if not sent by Trump, of what are these emails and texts probative? Nothing.
Chuck Cillizza, 24 hours ago:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/18/politics/buzzfeed-trump-cohen-russia/index.html
That's the reason you get invalid password instead of unknown userid. They don't let you know whether the user exists or not.
rcocean/soyboy,
Please tell us how the Ham community is viewing this..in about 8 one sentence posts a minute apart.
just to refresh,
smear
[smir]
VERB
damage the reputation of (someone) by false accusations; slander.
It's certainly good to know there are people out there, that are PROUD of working to
damage the reputation of The President of the United States by false accusations; slander. People that will manufacture and report complete falsehoods in their quest to damage our government
For those of you Trumpists that suffer from Mueller Derangement Syndrome, this should be embarrassing for you.
Althouse, this post of yours is one of the biggest nothingburgers you’ve ever published. I’m not in league with Buzzfeed; if they got this wrong, it’s no embarrassment and not much of a letdown for me. The work of Mueller isn’t diminished or damaged by a story that the Mueller office has disputed (however obliquely) a
I went back and reread the post. It's just as I thought, it doesn't mention you.
'rcocean/soyboy,
Please tell us how the Ham community is viewing this..in about 8 one sentence posts a minute apart."
And who the hell are you? Once you tell me, I'll explain it to you.
Inga: "For those of you Trumpists that suffer from Mueller Derangement Syndrome, this should be embarrassing for you."
Rosenstein out, Barr in...Inga the Conspiracy Theorist thinks its just a coincidence!
LOL
Any comment on Bruce Ohrs testimony that everyone at the FBI and DOJ knew the hoax dossier was unverified Clinton smears?
Tough break for our Golden Dossier girl. No wonder she is in a bad mood..
The leakers would certainly know whether it was accurately reported.
walter: "The leakers would certainly know whether it was accurately reported."
Im betting there are none.
Straight up manufactured Fake News.
Where were the lawyers around here shouting "attorney/client privilege!"
Obviously Trump got hold of some pictures of Mueller with Lindsey Graham
Watch. Buzzfeed will never burn these mythical sources....because they are mythical.
"THE LEAKS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE DOSSIER!"
My bad rcocean,
Had you confused with rhardin.
My apologies.
"THE LEAKS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE DOSSIER!"
That's pretty funny right there. Have a great weekend.
I wonder to what extent the olive branch Barr extended Mueller in his confirmation testimony was intended to signal to Mueller that he won't be touched when the rest of the FBI/DOJ cabal is brought down, including Comey and members of Mueller's own team like Weissman, if Mueller behaves and plays fair.
I’m ordering the family-sized tub of popcorn and settling back with a cool beverage.
By the end of his second term Chuck and all the other impeachment wankers will have consumed so many empty impeachment calories they'll have to mainline insulin.
And I say this as a Libertarian who really wishes Trump would go away.
I guess we will have to wait for the mueller report to find out the truth. I’m in no hurry.
What makes you think he'll stick to the facts they'll throw everything in the pot, as has been his investigation.
Libtards and Never Trump Rinos never admit they are wrong.
This is a pattern that goes back to ed meets EA special prosecutor re wedtech.
narciso,
regarding the 8:28 comment by our dearly deported, I bet you find the endorsement of Mueller's "team" interesting.
steve uhr said...
I guess we will have to wait for the mueller report to find out the truth. I’m in no hurry.
What makes you think that it will be the truth, or even accurate?
TWO IDIOTS
meeses special prosecutor they found no criminal grounds but he still outlined what he could have been charged with (mark Levin was his chief of staff)
"I guess we will have to wait for the mueller report to find out the truth."
Nope. You will find out what the deep state wants you know.
"I’m in no hurry."
Neither is Mueller.
How can a reporter be so stupid & craven as to report a story that's such a bombshell if true & then admit in public that he has never laid eyes on the source's documents!
In other words, trust a source with the future your career.
There are so many of these bombshell stories that turn out to be utter hogwash that I'm starting to suspect a concerted effort by Team Trump to either 1) out internal leakers by planting multiple stories & see which one leaks or 2) to destroy the credibility of the media false leak by false leak.
Then again, it could be 1 AND 2.
"If it makes sense to you, if it strikes — if it rings true, it is true."
Leopold has done some good reporting, when hes had access to actual documents, but you look at what was left by the wayside.
"How can a reporter be so stupid & craven as to report a story that's such a bombshell if true & then admit in public that he has never laid eyes on the source's documents!"
I think the modern day journalism description is "Fake, but accurate".
Trump is the luckiest man in the world to be blessed with these enemies - raging buffoons.
Yawn. I was waiting three days to see if the story blew up. It blew up. Not sure I'm even going to try to find out what the fake story was.
The first equalizer film was good, does this one measure up?
Orangeman bad, what else could it be.
Yeah, if any proof was ever required that the Trump haters are literally incapable of embarassment or admitting their narrative has taken *any* hits in credibility (and it's been BURIED these last couple days, what with Ohr's and Baker's testimonies), their responses in this thread prove it. Not even a trickle of intellectual honesty between the lot of them. Fucking pathetic, seriously.
Cue Royal ass Inga:
Nobody knows what Mueller knows.
LMMFAO
If there had been a "smoking gun" prior to the election in November it would have leaked. Mueller may be running a witch hunt (and I think he is) but even though I think he's trying to run an honest witch hunt, someone on the team would have leaked. The stakes were too high with RGB's body breaking and the Senate in reach.
Naw he let's all this stuff marinate and occasionally calls an audible
Lefty hoopes are dashed again. I love it!
"If there had been a "smoking gun" prior to the election in November it would have leaked...."
I think your on to something here. Trump continues to wreak havoc in DC, appointing judges, obliterating sacred cows, destroying the media .... the list goes on. If they had anything on Trump, they would have used it by now. If they wait much longer, the deep state will be in shambles.
Remember their previous track record:
https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/18/cnn-msnbc-impeach-trump-buzzfeed-mueller/
"The first equalizer film was good, does this one measure up?"
Yes. Even better.
We're talking Denzel Washington, right?
I have only seen all the Youtube clips of E1, which is probably 75% of the movie, albiet out of flow and rhythm.
I got E2 thinking I was renting tbe E1 (hey, going senile) and it exceeded expectations. I was hoping for a good Dark Bond vigilante action flick but it had more depth and layers than expected. Some very dramatic moving scenes, in addition to very realistic action. Must see.
I don't think Trump minds when his minions lie on his behalf. On the contrary, I think he takes it as a mark of pure loyalty when they are willing to commit perjury or other abuses of the legal system for his benefit and take the consequences. That, I believe, is why he loved Roy Cohn so much - Cohn would do anything to win for a client, and suborning perjury was probably the least of his sins. That is why Trump was so unhappy with Sessions - he thought Sessions should have refused to recuse himself and toughed out any consequent ethics complaints. That's the type of loyalty Trump demands. On the other hand, Trump is far too clever ever to tell any of his minions to violate the law. That's why the BuzzFeed story, claiming that Trump told Cohen to perjure himself to Congress, didn't ring true.
Who gives a fuck about "Chuck"
I don't.
At least Inga is good for a laugh, sort of like our own AOC.
The more people focus on Chuckles, the less I am interested in this blog.
Still viable. Planned President is but a dream at the twilight fringe.
"THE LEAKS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE DOSSIER!"
Considering the part about "pee tapes" that is both possible and quite off putting.
If any of Mueller's people leaked to Buzzfeed, they are guilty of a crime.
Will any Democrats ever be prosecuted?
Second Equalizer also good.
Water Closet continues to leak... or maybe a honey porta potty.
Francisco D,
Not in DC, they won't.
https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1086482152164708353
None of the Buzzfeed report is correct according to Mueller.
"The leakers would certainly know whether it was accurately reported."
And I'm guessing they knew it was fake and fed it to BuzzFeed anyway. No real skin off their noses, and you've got to keep flinging spaghetti. To keep the narrative going they are going to have to cannabalize some of their own. For the cause.
The assumption is that there were any sources to begin with. Without some fresh meat to grill Mueller is going to be forced to come out with a report well before 2020.
It's always interesting to see an entire industry commit seppuku without intending it, but newspeople have earned the contempt in which they are held.
I have stopped watching all TV and cable news. They are totally worthless, because they shill nonsense from the internet or grab some PC opinion or outright lies from a swamp creature and call it breaking news. A world in which anyone pays attention to the opinions of a 29 year old barista (yeah, I'm looking at you, AOC) is a world that has gone haywire.
I still get the Chicago Trib for the comics and the sports section, which is also full of lies.
I think buzzfeed got played. My guess is that this is from the FBI. Establishing a narrative, or not knowing the full story in Mueller land and making some educated guesses themselves. Knowing that Mueller won't comment.
Unfortunately for them, it backfired. Democrats wanted to escalate hearings if the story was true, and they needed Mueller to put up or shutup. He wasn't ready so he had to walk back the story.
My guess is that the internal Trump Org documents reference establishing narratives in the press. Which is not perjury, despite what the press may think. It's not even impeachable. Cohen took those and ran with it, testifying in Congress falsely (out of a sense of loyalty to the president). Overzealous prosecutors/agents/anti-Trumpers make that into suborning perjury.
"Trump didn't tell Cohen to tell the truth! He wanted him to lie! Suborning perjury! Impeach! IMPEACH!"
If you read the buzzfeed story carefully you'll see that there are no details about how exactly Cohen was told to lie to Congress. That's the tell for there isn't really such a statement. It's all informal. Hearsay. 3rd parties, etc. etc.
"If you read the buzzfeed story carefully you'll see that there are no details about how exactly Cohen was told to lie to Congress. That's the tell for there isn't really such a statement." Indeed. I tried pointing that out in the comments on the Washington Post and no one wanted to hear it. Then the Mueller statement came out.
Blogger phantommut said...
And I say this as a Libertarian who really wishes Trump would go away.
Why? Have we ever had a more libertarian president in the past 100-1150 years? Perhaps Coolidge. But maybe not even him.
What other president has shrunk the number of govt employees? What other president has reduced the number of federal regulations?
And that's not even counting the shutdown. This could go on for years, he says, though I think that is hyperbole. But if it goes on for months or even a month more some of those folks will be out finding new jobs. Then, when govt reopens, they won't be rehired and the positions will be abolished. (I hope!)
John Henry
What other president has shrunk the number of govt employees?
And after this "shutdown" is over, many "non-essential" workers will find out just how non-essential they are when their pink slips arrive.
“I guess we will have to wait for the mueller report to find out the truth. I’m in no hurry.”
“What makes you think that it will be the truth, or even accurate?”
Apparently a week or so ago Schumer met with AG designate Barr, and came out “ashen”. One suggestion about the reason for that, is that the Independent Counsel regulations require that they report to the AG, and they get to decide how much to release to the public. And that the normal practice is to not disclose any information about those not indicted. Think about it a minute - would we really want prosecutors reporting on cases that they couldn’t make? Think about the people not indicted - shouldn’t they have privacy here if prosecutors didn’t have enough to prosecute? Everyone has been assuming that Mueller’s plan was to deliver a report that threw a bunch of mud against Trump, none of which was ever used against him. But it appears that may not happen, and Barr playing by the rules means no final report damning Trump by Mueller.
Blogger Inga...Allie Oop said..."For those of you Trumpists that suffer from Mueller Derangement Syndrome, this should be embarrassing for you."
Does anybody understand this comment?
Does anyone think this was dropped to increase pressure on Trump to reopen the government?
Possibly as a by product?
Is the timeline
Nancy gets benched then this comes out?
Even assuming everybody on teams Mueller & Barr is a Boy Scout (if that still means anything today) it will leak. It's Washington.
Or was this due to come out when she was out of the country?
From the never embarrassed Chuck:
"I like Buzzfeed’s statement in response; they have challenged Mueller’s office to be clear about exactly what it is that they got wrong. Ben Smith of Buzzfeed says that they have checked back with their sources since publication and they remain solid.
I love Mueller and his team, but it certainly isn’t a clear statement from them."
Chuck, Buzzfeed's only real story in the article was the accusation that Trump suborned perjury- that was it- nothing else in the article was noteworthy in any way. If Mueller is disputing the reporting, he is disputing the claim that Trump suborned perjury- full stop. No such statement would have been made otherwise. I guess, to paraphrase every stupid Inga, even Robert Mueller doesn't know what Robert Mueller knows.
Sheesh- can't believe you and Buzzfeed are really this stupid. If Mueller is telling you the story is wrong, then the story is wrong.
Why? Have we ever had a more libertarian president in the past 100-1150 years? Perhaps Coolidge. But maybe not even him.
Trump is by nature an authoritarian. "By any means necessary" isn't something I can support. I may be naive.
Blogger Unknown said..."Even assuming everybody on teams Mueller & Barr is a Boy Scout (if that still means anything today) it will leak. It's Washington."
Leak it? They'll just make shit up.
Mueller issued the statement because the accusation was so serious- if, when Cohen testifies next month and confirmed the story was false, then Mueller would have been accused of deliberately allowing such a charge to go unanswered for 3 weeks when he knew it wasn't true. This isn't the first time Mueller has done this- his office did exact the same thing last year when McClatchey reran the Cohen-in-Prague story- a position that was rapidly confirmed by Cohen himself and by Lanny Davis (once someone forceably reminded him that he was Cohen's lawyer, not Clinton's).
Probably what happened was that Mueller's team checked to see if this story came from Cohen and his lawyers- and when Cohen confirmed that it hadn't, then they issued the statement.
It is also possible this was a mole hunt in the FBI or the DoJ, or even a mole hunt in Mueller's own team. That is my hope, though I suspect that Buzzfeed's reporters are probably just fabricating the entire story, or, at best, been played by Democratic operatives.
One of these wins the internet for the night- both really funny:
"Obviously Trump got hold of some pictures of Mueller with Lindsey Graham"
"THE LEAKS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE DOSSIER!"
Althouse is not up to speed:
Never mind. How embarrassing for the Trump haters. I didn't even write about the Buzzfeed story myself. I'm so jaded about the latest impeachment bait.
The prevailing sentiment among elected Democrats has been quite skeptical of impeachment. Perhaps a few dozen of the 235 House Democrats have said they are in favor. Rookie Rep. Rashida Tlaib from Michigan said: “We’re going to impeach the motherfucker,” but only a few veterans have opened their mouths in favor of the "I" word. Not-so-famous dems, Brad Sherman (CA), Al Green (TX), and Steve Cohen (TN) have separately introduced Articles of Impeachment but obviously, they don't act as if a prospective movement is in place.
Buzzfeed on the other hand is at the top of the mountain in "ho-hum" reporting, having published the "no evidence" Steele dossier that even Jim Comey says was never completely verified as true but he may have only been talking about the existence of pee tapes.
Buzzfeed declared that law enforcement sources familiar with Cohen's testimony to the special counsel said he had confirmed that Trump directed him to lie to Congress. Under oath and in court, the former Trump lawyer said: "I made these misstatements to be consistent with Individual 1’s political messaging and out of loyalty to Individual 1."
So Bob Mueller ethically had to blow up the Buzzfeed reporting and did so. It doesn't mean that Trump didn't lie about the Trump Tower meeting or that he did not suborn perjury on the part of Don Jr in that case or with Mike Flynn during Flynn's time on the wheel when Trump's National Security Director was working for Turkey's President . Recall that the Judge Sullivan raised the question of treason during Flynn's sentencing hearing.
So Mueller is probably indicating that he prefers to make his case with facts - not using excitable reporters and Twitter like Trump and Giuliani. As fo us Trump haters, we are up to speed and happy as larks.
Brian wrote:
"I think buzzfeed got played. My guess is that this is from the FBI. Establishing a narrative, or not knowing the full story in Mueller land and making some educated guesses themselves. Knowing that Mueller won't comment"
Yes, this is probably what happened- it seemed like a safe lie to tell the most gullible reporters one could find.
Recall that the Judge Sullivan raised the question of treason during Flynn's sentencing hearing.
Yeah that went over well.
Gadfly whistles past the graveyard.
Trumps is so insidious he's gotten to Mueller too! Is there no end to this presidents criminality?!?
“Why? Have we ever had a more libertarian president in the past 100-1150 years? Perhaps Coolidge. But maybe not even him.”
Trump is by nature an authoritarian.
Really? How about providing some evidence for Trump's supposed “authoritarian” nature because, for one thing, I don't see it — and for another, for instance libertarian-leaning University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds (who posts as the “Instapundit”) just this last year has posted several statements like, e.g.:
“It’s a low bar, admittedly, but Trump is a more libertarian, and more conservative, president than any in my lifetime.”
That seems right to me!
Like Charlie Brown on Halloween, all the TDS crowd got was a rock.
Come on guys. You don't know what Mueller knows.
"Bruce Ohrs leaked testimony under oath demolishes the lefties/dems/LLR's lies about what the FBI and DOJ knew about the hoax-dem/LLR dossier."
-- It also means either Ohr committed perjury, or a number of other people did. I imagine Mueller won't spend too much time trying to navigate that .
"My understanding is that Mueller will have to share everything about the investigation with Barr if asked."
-- He will be required to, yes. But given that he seems to have approved of Comey lying to the president, whether he will or not is an open question.
"I like Buzzfeed’s statement in response; they have challenged Mueller’s office to be clear about exactly what it is that they got wrong. "
-- Chuck, per BuzzFeed, Mueller's team's statement was: “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."
I don't know how much more clear it gets than that. BuzzFeed's report was wrong.
My cynicism has grown to the point that I find it entirely plausible that Buzzfeed intentionally threw itself under the bus in order to impart some much needed credibility to Mueller. Cause God knows he hadn't earned any before this.
Could it be true that Mueller has been working with Trump all along. Showtime at the Apprentice. It looked like Trump was fired, and then he fired the accusers. I can’t wait for the next episode.
AOC has all the qualifications needed to join CNN/WaPo/NYT should she wish to take her activism there.
Sadly, she is overqualified.
I don't know how much more clear it gets than that. BuzzFeed's report was wrong.
Well you have to understand, if you question the Great Pumpkin, he won’t visit your pumpkin patch! So Chuck is on his best behavior!
Really? How about providing some evidence for Trump's supposed “authoritarian” nature
Easy, he beat Hillary, plus we don’t like the Orange Man.
So Bob Mueller ethically had to blow up the Buzzfeed reporting and did so. It doesn't mean that Trump didn't lie about the Trump Tower meeting or that he ...
Keep hope alive!
"By any means necessary" isn't something I can support. I may be naive.
What the fuck does this even mean? You know who is using any means necessary, abusing the FISA courts, using the NSA, CIA, FBI, etc to hound and hammer their opponents? It is Trump’s enemies. Or is it the Tweeting? are all of these methods justified by the Tweeting and name calling? “Crooked Hillary”? The misspellings?
I get it now, authoritarians can’t spell, it’s a sure sign and you are on to him!
I thought Chuck was asked to leave.
What's he still doing here?
THEOLDMAN
I see The Poor Man's LLR Chuck gadfly once again chimes in long after the latest lefty/LLR lie/smear has been utterly debunked to offer up a hodge-podge of random musings cobbled together haphazardly from all the usual suspects into what must appear to gadfly to be some sort of an original, compelling and persuasive "argument".
It is to laugh.
Quite a week. The Democrats followed their escape to Puerto Rico paid for by donors & lobbyists, by a petulant stunt to stop the President from giving the SOTU.
Meanwhile the President stayed behind to honor the NCAA National Champs at the White House paid out of his own pocket.
The Dems followed that by a planned junket all over the world at taxpayers' expense while 800,000 people are laid off by the shutdown.
To which the reality show host stopped their trip ON THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT, saying "Nancy, I can do this all day. What's your next move?"
Oh yeah.....Buzzfeed! The straw that broke the camel's back!
Orange man in Orange jumpsuit!
What? Never mind.
"Does anybody understand this comment?"
Oh, it's simple. She was flailing to find some way to turn this around so it's bad for Trump and when she couldn't find one she decided to come up with this lame attempt to criticize his fans.
"Bruce Ohrs leaked testimony under oath demolishes the lefties/dems/LLR's lies about what the FBI and DOJ knew about the hoax-dem/LLR dossier."
The OIG very likely knows the truth here. I'm think that there have been two problems with getting the truth out. One is that Mueller's ongoing investigation is being used to protect a lot of bad actors, esp who worked at the FBI. Of course, begging by Great Britain and Australia not to embarrass them with disclosing their part helped keep specific parts out of the public too. The second aspect seems to be that the FBI attorneys have been extremely zealous in protecting their client, by keeping its employees (and now former employees) from talking on a number of subjects. The testimony of ADAG Bruce Ohr was a surprise to me, and part of that may very well be that he isn't (and wasn't) FBI, so didn't have those FBI attys breathing down his neck, protecting the agency, over the truth and the public. Up until reading the transcripts of his testimony, I had assumed that he was one of the bad guys at the center of the conspiracy, due to his connections with the major outside players, and that he was the go between between Steele and Simpson on the one hand, and the FBI on the other. But he is still employed by the government. Demoted (he was, at one point the highest ranked non-political employee at DoJ), but still employed. No one else at the center of the conspiracy is. Some were fired, and some quit. But everyone else whose names we all recognize is still employed. But Ohr, while no longer ADAG, is still employed by the DoJ. Which argues, to me, that he was testifying honestly here, and the OIG has known almost from the first that he was being straight with them.
"-- It also means either Ohr committed perjury, or a number of other people did. I imagine Mueller won't spend too much time trying to navigate that ."
As just noted, I don't think that Ohr lied. I think that we just saw part of the conspiracy without the FBI attys successively filtering what Congress (and ultimately the public) could see about the corruption at the top of their agency.
Part of why Mueller was such a bad, such a corrupt, choice for special counsel here is that he, as FBI Director, appears to have been one of the main causes of the blight in his former agency. He apparently instituted an up or out policy, where senior field agents either had to finish their careers in DC, or leave early. Which wasn't something that the straight shooters, esp with kids in school, wanted to deal with at that point. Which meant that FBI HQ filled up with political types, like McCabe, Strzok, etc. who seem to have been the ones to have put the special counsel investigation together, and very likely picked the core of the investigators, before picking Mueller - whom I suspect was picked primarily to protect the FBI's image and power. Think about it for a minute - the guy picked to investigate a scandal partially created by the FBI used to head the FBI, and was probably at least partially responsible for the careers of those involved, as well as some of the corruption at the agency that is at the root of the rot. Several million attorneys out there in the country, and tens of thousands with prosecutorial experience, and the one they picked seems to have been the one guy most conflicted by the investigation.
In Mueller's defense, I don't think that he is really dishonest and unscrupulous, like some of his investigators appear to be (most notably, of course, Andrew Weissman, who was involved with the Steele Dossier long before moving to the Mueller team, despite being on the criminal side, and the Trump investigation by the FBI having been on the National Security side of tge DoJ). Rather, it looks to me like Mueller was brought in to protect the image of the investigatory team, and, of course, the FBI.
OK, here's my thoughts about why Mueller decided to openly dispute the facts about the BuzzFeed News article. It will make it easier for Mueller to publicly state shortly that he's got nothin' concerning the collusion crap that the Clinton campaign funded, and Obama didn't stand in the way of to take down Trump.
Here's another vote for EqualizerII. Denzel Washington owns the role like few actors can. I miss Robert Woodward's ultra dry approach to the role. Excellent in his own rite. Denzel kills this role, and both Robert McCalls can exist quite happily. Man on Fire is quite a good run up to EQ, and has Christopher Walken in it to boot.
"Could it be true that Mueller has been working with Trump all along. Showtime at the Apprentice. It looked like Trump was fired, and then he fired the accusers. I can’t wait for the next episode"
I don't think so. I don't think though that he is inherently dishonest and unethical either, unlike some of his current and former subordinates.
But something else may be going on here. His investigation is winding down, at least partially a result of Barr taking over the DoJ, and Rosenstein retiring from being his direct supervisor. He may also have been reminded that he isn't going to be the one determining what the public hears at the end of the investigation. Either Rosenstein or Barr will be. He reports to his supervisor, who then decides what to make public. And that very much probably means that all of the expected spectacle of Mueller laying out a vague circumstantial case against Trump, instead, with no real fire ever having been found under all the FBI generated smoke, little will be said about Trump, in accordance with long term DoJ policy of protecting the innocent. That the investigation will end with a whimper, instead of the roar that would propel them to impeachment.
"Think about it for a minute - the guy picked to investigate a scandal partially created by the FBI used to head the FBI, and was probably at least partially responsible for the careers of those involved, as well as some of the corruption at the agency that is at the root of the rot. Several million attorneys out there in the country, and tens of thousands with prosecutorial experience, and the one they picked seems to have been the one guy most conflicted by the investigation."
Let me also add that Mueller was the second longest serving FBI Director ever, after J Edgar Hoover, in the agency's history. After Hoover, because of how he was able to survive President after President through the secrets that he had accumulated over that time, FBI Directors were limited, by law, to a ten year term. But Obama got the Senate to allow Mueller another two years at the head of the FBI, so that he (Obama) had time to find a worthy successor (Comey). Normal practice is to appoint an interim agency head (including of the FBI), but Obama requested and got an exception from Congress to the "Hoover Rule" to keep Mueller an extra two years.
The media reports on the Buzz feed story used the word IF true, and Mueller to his credit in an effort to protect the Presidentcy said some facts were not accurate. Unfortunately some politicians and media folks went over board in their anti-Trump mind set without waiting to see how much of this claim could be verified by other sources. Cohen will testify before Congress on Feb. 7th and could add other information to this on-going story, stay tuned.
There are other ways to harshly deal with Schlump short of impeachment.
1) Congress, now in the Democrats' hand, passes a bill declaring him a witch. Then he can be burned at the stake for witchcraft. There is an ongoing witch hunt by those in the liberal media suffering from SDS, i.e., Schlump Derangement Syndrome.
This is not unheard of in this backward country:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials
2) Schlump can be tried for the multiple alleged rapes of white women. A redneck lynching party will string Schlump up a tree if the charges are found to be true. Historically, not only blacks were lynched in this backward country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States
3) Schlump sniffs a lot possibly indicating a cocaine habit. If "the chief law enforcer" is found to be breaking the drug laws of the nation, the druggy can be thrown in jail...after first being impeached. Sorry, I slipped up there by bringing up impeachment.
https://law.onecle.com/constitution/article-2/36-president-as-law-enforcer.html
Recall that the Judge Sullivan raised the question of treason during Flynn's sentencing hearing...
As fo us Trump haters, we are up to speed and happy as larks.
“Don’t read too much into the questions I asked,” Sullivan continued. “I wasn’t suggesting he was committing treason.”
Good thing you're up to speed.
That there is some first class stupid, Trumpit.
"It will make it easier for Mueller to publicly state shortly that he's got nothin'...."
It could be that he wants to lend credibility to whatever circumstantial case he eventually presents, on whatever charge.
Montage: Media Was Already Calling for Trump Impeachment Following Disputed BuzzFeed Report
Corrupt Democratic Press calling for impeachment.
Illegal to beat a Clinton.
Meade said...
"Robert S. Mueller III, challenged the facts of an article published by BuzzFeed News on Thursday evening"
Obviously, Mueller has become part of the Trump/Russia Collusion.
Excellent point, Meade.
But when he became part of the Trump/Russia Collusion, did Mueller and his 13 Democrats lose their Life Memberships in The Deep State?
You're still smear? I mean — here?
AllenS: "That there is some first class stupid, Trumpit."
You can tell this one is going to be harder for the leftits/LLR's to let go of
than many of their previous left/LLR lies/smears.
Just witness the coments last night and today. The non-sourced non-verified literally debunked tale they were fed lives on.
LLR Chuck in one of his many MSNBC/Vox/alcohol fueled rages is likely just minutes away from asserting Trump said "I can see Putin from my house" in the same way he was pushing the Tina Fey line as a Palin staement years later.
Once LLR Chuck's favorite Stolen Valor hack dem hero Da Nang Dick Blumenthal went all in with this story yesterday there was no way that...(wait for it)...LLR Chuck (who also "courageously" considered military service for just a monent but then didnt)..was going to abandon Da Nang Dick on the political battlefield!!
LOL
I particularly enjoyed LLR Chuck's transparently over-defensive treatise-kength and tortured description of every minute detail of his arduous thought process and decision to not serve.
I'll bet its te equivalent thought process he encounters when considering whether or not to wear shorts in the summer!!
There could be sources. There were sources about Justice Kavanaugh having gang rape connections. They were even "credible" per lefty politicians and MSM IIRC.
Of course they were lying due to the Must Kill Orange Hitler disease.
JAORE: "There were sources about Justice Kavanaugh having gang rape connections."
Yep. LLR Chuck's best pals and allies really showed their true colors in that instance.
Things like that can sure make it difficult for a guy to maintain his on-line persona...
And I see R/V is attempting the "if true" defense!
LOL
The lefty/LLR (a distinction with zero difference) media ran for hours and hours and hours as if this were established fact and only once in a great while someone on set would quickly pop in the "if true" after which hours and hours of pretending it were established fact again.
Almost as if the entire point of the exercise was to unfairly smear Trump, to drive down his support, to enable/empower/facilitate the dems impeaching Trump.
Hmmmmmm, now why does that sound so familiar?......
Blogger Matthew Sablan said..."Come on guys. You don't know what Mueller knows."
In this case Mueller just told us what he knows and Inga still won't accept reality.
And this statement makes no more sense in the light of morning than it did last night:
Blogger Chuck said..."I love Mueller and his team, but it certainly isn’t a clear statement from them."
The reason for all of this is to drive President Trumps approval ratings into the 20's. Then just like Nixon, the Republican leadership goes to President Trump and tells him he can no longer govern without the backing of People.
That has always been the motivating factor for any action taken against President Trump. There is no crime, no one thinks there is. They will however do whatever they need, to convince 'the public' that "if this is true...'
The go to play book by the media is Nixon. Use that filter, and you will understand.
"There is no crime, no one thinks there is."
I'd be willing to bet good money that Inga actually believes the stuff she posts. Not Chuck, though. He may believe it but he has stated he doesn't care about fairness. If Trump were unfairly railroaded out of the Presidency he would be ecstatic. He is without honor.
People often ask how Rush has survived all the years. He has explained several times in detail, the corefact states, "the media did not create me, the media cannot destroy me.
Put that premise to work in the 2020 Democrat Presidential race. The media is going after Harris and O Rourke. They are media created beings, and will be treated as such. I find this very interesting, watching the media choose the next leader of the free world. Add this to the way we no longer legislate through the full bodies of the House of Representatives, and Senate.
Where does this end? How do the people get their way? Elections are no longer reflecting the will of the people. How many House seats flipped in the House elections 10 to after the last ballot was cast.
Blogger Chuck said..."I love Mueller and his team, but it certainly isn’t a clear statement from them."
The statement is very clear...for a lawyer generated statement. Just enough ambiguity to hide behind. But that statement in response to the specific story is a clear denial of the core fact of the story. 'proof that President Trump suborned perjury' Might be uncorroborated statements, no proof.
Let me help the Trump hatin’ crowd out:
1. Trump will serve out his first term
2. Trump will win re-election by more than his first win
3. History will smile on his service.
Keep living in your delusion if you wish but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
We are at a very serious point in American politics and a free press. The press has shown it's hatred for Trump and it's leftist narrative. However Trump raised the stakes to a fever pitch by tweeting about fake news. Now if Trump is innocent of "collusion" and obstruction of justice", then the press will be vilified and lose all respectability. That will make Trump a hero and winner.However if Trump is not innocent then the press will control the narrative in America with their leftist propaganda and we conservatives will have been screwed. I hope Trump realizes that he has taken conservatives to the precipice.
Amadeus 48 said...
"It's always interesting to see an entire industry commit seppuku without intending it, but newspeople have earned the contempt in which they are held."
I don't think the industry is committing suicide. It was holed below the waterline by Google and FaceBook. What we are seeing now is the ship being rode to the bottom by a crew of mice, since the rats who used to run her have all gone ashore.
For those of you Trumpists that suffer from Mueller Derangement Syndrome, this should be embarrassing for you. - Drooling Inga
Buzzfeed runs a story that's so patently false, Mueller's office feels the need to put out a correction and we're the ones who should be embarrassed?
Your stupidity should be physically painful.
Post a Comment