UPDATE: The special counsel's office has taken the rare step of issuing a statement in response to our report on Michael Cohen being directed by Trump to lie to Congress:https://t.co/WA2fZcdK9u pic.twitter.com/PY1r9LxDid
— Jason Leopold (@JasonLeopold) January 19, 2019
This could mean almost anything. But it looks like something is seriously wrong with the BuzzFeed report.
I don’t think there’s enough there to speculate on specifics, but I’m sure others will.
And open thread!
SiubhanDuinne
Well shit
Yarrow
As I said in the previous thread, I am skeptical when a second news organization can’t confirm a big story like that by the end of the next day. Also, the reporters could have got played. We’re in hall of mirrors territory and they could be pawns in the Active Measure game.
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: Doesn’t mean it’s wrong overall. It means some of it is not fully correct.
Major Major Major Major
Wow, and Mueller’s office never says anything.
pinacacci
Call me crazy (probably am), but between tis and te full court press slamming buzzfeed, suddenly I ae a lot less trust in and ope about te Mueller inestigation. sorry my keyboard as a few inoperatie keys rigt now.
ETA and Muellers friendsip wit Barr. All of it togeter makes me nerous. So sorry about keyboard.
Arm The Homeless
This sounds like Mueller trying to toss cold water on the story. Or trying to cool down talks of impeachment before the cake is fully baked.
Either way Trump will take it as a new talking point until the next time he steps on his own
dickstupid looking tie.Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Yarrow: yeah, that’s a very narrowly worded statement.
trump hasn’t been melting down about Cohen because there might be video of trump getting drunk and doing I Will Survive at the company holiday party karaoke
TS (the original)
Mueller’s Office never speaks – sounding to me like protection of the president* – how come they haven’t spoken to all the lies trump & co have said. Now I’m wondering when emails will get a mention.
‘
hitchhiker
If they were pawns in some kind of sting, then what Mueller’s office just did would be their way of stomping on that misinformation so that their own (eventual) findings and documents don’t become entangled and tainted.
I can’t think of any other reason for Mueller to make this kind of public statement right now.
TS (the original)
@Yarrow:
As far as the US political media and the GOP are concerned it means it is wrong overall. trump and co will shout it from the roof tops and the media will repeat and repeat.
MisterForkbeard
Well, that is interesting. Glad Dems have been calling for confirmation and investigation rather than rushing to impeach. Better this clarification come sooner rather than later.
Didn’t Cohen confirm at least some of it this morning? I wonder how that works with this narrowly worded statement.
Jeffro
@Arm The Homeless:
Yeeee-up.
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
YUPYUPYUP
Don’t live and die by the news cycle, or even one bombshell story, folks. We’ll get Dumb Nixon eventually. Or rather, Dumb Nixon will get himself booted before his term is over.
dexwood
So, it’s the kerning once more. //
Yarrow
@TS (the original): So fucking what. What next indictments will do the talking.
Plato
First statement from Mueller and it has to be this? Juuust great. Not the Friday dump i expected.
PPCLI
I was worried about this. I’m still stunned at how effective the “Fake Documents to Dan Rather” scam was in completely burying the fact that Bush went AWOL from the Texas National Guard.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@TS (the original): You think Mueller sent Manafort to prison, raided Cohen’s office in dramatic fashion and got Gates, Flynn and Cohen to spill their guts as part of an elaborate ruse to protect the trump family?
By which I mean to say: Everybody take a deep breath. In non-political junkie land, most people don’t know this happened.
Quinerly
I posted this earlier. Still encouraging people to read it.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/what-happened-trump-cohen-period-direct-lie-congress
Plato
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
When was ever the thug hasn’t been melting down? That’s his distraction shtick.
Cheryl Rofer
Other news organizations are undoubtedly trying to corroborate or disprove the BuzzFeed story.
I’m thinking that Mueller wants to cool things down a little, as Arm The Homeless said. But what does he want to cool down? The connection to Trump? Congress going off half-cocked in hearings? No way to tell what the details are. And there must be something wrong with the BuzzFeed story for them to issue this statement.
Suzanne
@Jeffro:
DOOD. We have to stop hanging our hopes on impeachment or prison or summary execution or whatever. (And I say this as someone who literally dreams about it.) He’s going to have to go out the same way he went in—via an election—so we better be figuring out which Dem candidate is the likeliest to win.
Plato
@PPCLI:
Exactly. While the 24×7 lying thugs like klannity, limpaugh and their ilk keep thriving.
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: If they got played by their sources they need to burn their sources.
Martin
I’ve figured out Trumps announcement for tomorrow. He’s selling Hawaii to Russia. Not only does it raise money to build the wall, but it dilutes Democratic EVs and representation in Congress, as well as make Obama retroactively not an American. Plus, that’s what he’s been talking to Putin about all this time. It’s got everything!
zzyzx
Rule number 1 is always double and triple check stories you most want to be true. I’m not going to get excited about anything without major sources.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
we’re in the same place we were before this story came out, Mueller knows everything, we know little, and all that matters is what’s in documents and tape recordings
Major Major Major Major
@Cheryl Rofer:
Certainly the only thing we can say for sure.
Cheryl Rofer
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Or perhaps they are also in the game. Or at least one of the two.
jl
Thanks for info, Cheryl. So considerable skepticism about the story is now warranted.
But, as I noted in the previous thread, the statement does not specifically deny the substance of the story. It specifically denies the story’s characterization of the sourcing of the evidence to the Special Counsel’s Office. We don’t know who the two informants are or who they work for. Mueller parceled out a lot of the various aspects of the Trump Affair to SDNY and NY State.
So, what Yarrow said above. Details might have been shaded to protect the informants anonymity, or they simplified the provenance of the evidence.
Could be Mueller is not happy to have this story out right now, so, as ATH says, just some nit-picking to throw cold water on it.
Hopefully we’ll get further info supporting or debunking the story soon.
Edit: or just some nonsense to establish that the story did not come from Mueller’s office. They want to retain their public reputation intact for never leaking anything, ever never ever.
The Midnight Lurker
All Mueller’s office has done with this announcement is put ammo into the “fake news – it’s all a hoax” guns.
A lot of articles have been off the mark, but not peep from Mueller.
Stupid.
lamh36
Oh lord…Thinking it might be a good idea to mute “Trump” “Mueller” and “Buzzfeed” on twitter for the rest of the weekend…
jl
@Martin: Russia doesn’t want Alaska back? They have some oil left.
Jeffro
@Suzanne:
He can actually go out other ways. Fast food 24/7’s just not healthy. ;)
And for the Dems, all we have to do is not nominate a non-Dem or a nut. Hillz won last time despite historic interference, “3rd term” fatigue, misogynist sentiment, kneecapping by St Wilmer etc, and the blue wave’s circling back for another, um, tide? I’m totally not stressed about the Dem nominee.
But trumpov’s not gonna make it to the next inauguration. And people, if Mueller was gonna tank the investigation, he would have done it quickly and before the midterms. Look at what’s already been produced/who’s been indicted/what’s already in the record.
If anything, Mueller’s team is trying to keep it all going, then drop everything at once. EVERYTHING.
J R in WV
@pinacacci:
No problem, you’re funnier than the fisherman from Sitka with the terrible rural accent spelling he can’t type without. ;-)
zzyzx
@The Midnight Lurker: unless an outright hoax is being spread that risks the investigation as a whole. That’s best to stop quickly.
lamh36
Yarrow
@lamh36: Yep. Buzzfeed not looking good on this.
Cheryl Rofer
And here’s the official word from BuzzFeed:
Plato
I think it was aleta who raised the concern about the BuzzFeed’s sources here going against the bj wisdom. Kudos, aleta.
SiubhanDuinne
@pinacacci:
Here, use these:
I’ve got more if you need them.
Yarrow
@Cheryl Rofer: LOL. Sure they will.
Quinerly
@Cheryl Rofer: I think Mueller doesn’t have anything to corroborate Cohen’s statement that Trump told him to lie to Congress. It’s all Trump’s word against Cohen’s word. No tapes, no witness, nothing in writing.
lamh36
I mean I guess?
smintheus
This is source criticism 101, as I’ve been saying on this and other sites all day. We know that Jason Leopold has a sketchy journalistic history, including making claims that turn out to be false. Therefore we’re obligated to take any claims he makes with a grain of salt, unless they can be confirmed by other, credible journalists. Even before Mueller’s spokesman released that statement some glaring cracks had emerged between the claims that Leopold and his BuzzFeed minder Cormier were making about the state of their evidence. That was a second clue that extreme caution was warranted.
It’s not to say there can’t be anything of truth in what Leopold reports. It’s simply that you are obligated not to put trust in claims made by sources who have proven to be dishonest, unless the claims are independently confirmed by sources you can trust.
The Midnight Lurker
@Yarrow: Mueller’s office don’t look great either. They either needed to issue further clarification or stay with STFU.
Viva BrisVegas
We are in the biggest and most pervasive disinformation campaign in American history, yet when Buzzfeed quotes two anonymous sources, suddenly everybody is supposed to take it seriously?
Who were the sources and why were they talking?
The MSM (even Buzzfeed) is in business, but not necessarily the business of truth. They publish what sells, so they will go off half cocked with the least encouragement.
We need not to jump whenever they blow a whistle.
What Buzzfeed has might be true, it might be a version of the truth or it might just be a load of crap put out by Trumpian forces to muddy the water with yet more “fake news”.
Whatever it is, now that it is disputed, the MAGAts will take heart as it almost perfectly encapsulates their vision of the “Dark State” at work.
The short version, don’t trust anonymous sources.
Adam L Silverman
@jl: It also has Palins, which makes that deal as hard to do as giving Texas back to Mexico. The rest of us don’t want the Palins, nor do we want the Texans, but including them in the deal is a crime against humanity.
lamh36
Sigh…I have one question that many seem to have.
Buzzfeed contacted special council office before publishing. Can someone with better lawyerly sense than I please tell me why wait almost 22 hours before issuing this statement and leaving this hanging out there for over 22 hours?
Also too…bleh…I see POS Chump Jr already crowing bout the statement.
Also too…
I mean, I guess…
japa21
@zzyzx: Exactly. I was concerned that Buzzfeed had fallen for something put out by Trump’s side which they could then point to as fake news. This puts the kibosh on that while still maintaining the possibility that aspects of the story are true.
Ohio Mom
@Suzanne: I am afraid you are right.
GregB
George W. Bush’s Texas Air National Guard story comes to mind.
Salty Sam
@J R in WV:
No problem, you’re funnier than the fisherman from Sitka with the terrible rural accent spelling he can’t type without. ;-)
Gawd, I wish we had upvotes on this site, this surely deserves one…
p.a.
Someone already mentioned ‘kerning’, don’t also forget part of Rove et al playbook is souring the milk. The tobacco and carbon industries’ game of putting out pseudoinformation to confuse/discredit good info.
Lots of winger $ people out there to run interference.
Adam L Silverman
@Suzanne: @Jeffro:
Yarrow
@The Midnight Lurker: Disagree.
@Adam L Silverman:
Not this shit again. I guess no one wants Beto. Oh well.
@Viva BrisVegas:
I had the same question.
Adam L Silverman
@Salty Sam: It would certainly spruce the place up.
J R in WV
A little off-topic, but open thread so what the heck.
Our elder puppy, ~15 years old, named Happy for her primary emotion, has passed away. She faded quickly, and vet ER discovered she had an abdominal tumor which was bleeding into her abdomen. This would explain her lack of energy, not eating, etc, the last couple of days.
I held her and petted her, and she looked at me with those big brown eyes. Lost and gone, forever, now. A real sweet puppy. A long sad day. Makes Trump issues seem, well, not so important.
Will resume the fight tomorrow! Carry on, all of you jackals!
Matt McIrvin
Seems to me the reason Mueller’s office spoke up on this, and not another story, was that they effectively accused the Mueller investigation of leaking, something they have a deserved reputation for not doing. They had to deny that.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Adam L Silverman: Yup, an ego-driven indie run scares me more than anything else
ETA: and that goes for Katich and Hogan as much as any feckless rich man with too much time on his hands
Adam L Silverman
@Yarrow: I used to be a part time New Mexican. I neither want the Texans nor the Arizonans.//
delk
This definitely will effect Trump’s tv spectacle. He won’t be able to stick to the TelePrompTer.
Yarrow
@J R in WV: Awww…I’m so sorry. You did the right thing by her, even though it wasn’t easy. Be kind to yourself.
BlueDWarrior
I’m of the mind that the premise of the story is a more or less correct, but we still don’t definitively know if there is corroberating evidence.
So that’s still hanging out there…
Adam L Silverman
@J R in WV: My sincerest condolences. This is sort of how my Kylie went. She apparently had a very slow growing tumor inside her, she was asymptomatic, and she was fine until it grew long enough to burst a blood vessel. I got her to the vets right away, as in within 15 minutes or so, they got the bleeder tied off, got her transfused, but the cancer was everywhere. There was no good outcome. So we let her go.
Again, my sincerest condolences. We’re keeping you all in our thoughts.
Omnes Omnibus
@J R in WV: Condolences.
Cheryl Rofer
IF the story was disinformation given to BuzzFeed by Trump-leaning sources, Mueller can likely see that and would want to damp it down quickly so that it doesn’t affect his investigation’s credibility. As to why his office didn’t do that right away, it’s possible that the questions asked by BuzzFeed seemed appropriate for “no comment,” but the whole story together showed the presence of disinformation.
Unless another news organization confirms parts of the story, I think we can consign it to the memory hole.
Yarrow
@Adam L Silverman: Dude, you live in Florida. Glass houses and all.
@Matt McIrvin: Agree with this take.
@delk: That would be nice.
delk
@J R in WV: sorry for your loss. My first dog when I was a kid was named Happy.
oldgold
From this point forward, when Fox News and the like spew falsehoods concerning this matter, can we expect Mueller to issue vague corrective statements?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
an interesting angle– a lot of people were/are demanding impeachment now now now! as if hearings and investigations aren’t the first step in the process, whether you use the word or not
Adam L Silverman
From the former Obama appointed Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security:
Adam L Silverman
They got him!//
Cheryl Rofer
@J R in WV: Very sorry to hear this. It’s hard to lose a furry friend.
debit
@J R in WV: I’m so sorry.
dexwood
@J R in WV:
Peace to all.
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sanders, if not Sanders Gabbard, if not Sanders and Gabbard, Nina Turner, and, of course, Jill Stein will be running.
And this guy.
lamh36
ok…here’s a thread as good as any talking bout the SCO statement.
Check out the entire thing.
The Midnight Lurker
@lamh36:
I’m with you there! Buzzfeed contacted Mueller’s office and got nothing. Then they publish the story and Mueller’s people go ape shit.
If the story is bullshit and a problem for the investigation, why not nip it in the bud before they publish?
This makes zero sense to me.
dexwood
@Adam L Silverman:
Poor New Mexico! So far from Heaven, so close to Texas.
Manuel Armijo. NM Territorial Gov.,
NM, 1841
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: No one quite seems to understand that no matter how much Americans say they’re fed up with the existing political parties, the structural reality of the electoral college at the presidential level and first past the post, winner take all elections at almost all levels, forces American politics to function within and through two major political parties.
Yarrow
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: @Adam L Silverman: Makes sense to me.
The Midnight Lurker
@Adam L Silverman: One less scumbag in the world. I think I’ll have a drink.
Quinerly
@J R in WV: so sorry. Went through something similar with my beloved Leo one week into my 2014 NM trip. Undiagnosed tumor on his spleen ruptured in the night… abdomen filled up with blood. So awful when we have to say goodbye. There’s a pup out there who needs a home, though. I adopted my Poco 3 days after getting back.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@J R in WV: I’m sorry for your loss. Happy sounds like a good dog.
Major Major Major Major
@J R in WV: so sorry to hear that ? hugs!
Omnes Omnibus
@oldgold: At this point, I am going to conclude that nothing that Mueller does will ever be right in your eyes.
Adam L Silverman
@dexwood: Almost no truer words have ever been spoken.
Gwangung
Schultz? The man who destroyed the Sonics?
He’d get creamed by ALL Washingtonians, D and R.
Adam L Silverman
@The Midnight Lurker:
1) Spoof site run by the Popehat crew.
2) That’s WaPo reporter Dave Weigel. Who used to look like this:
https://nationalhill.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/dave_weigel-820×500.png
Ken
Is it just me, or has this story attracted a surprisingly large number of new nyms to this humble top-10000 blog?
Suzanne
@J R in WV: Ohhhhh no, I’m so sorry. Many hugs to you.
JR
At least Chelsea Perretti is still hilarious
jl
@The Midnight Lurker: “This makes zero sense to me.”
Commenter lamh36’s links above argue that it was because the story made a splash and it had language that could be interpreted to mean that the Special Counsel’s Office leaked the information. The SCO wants to make it very clear that it does not leak information. But, unless the Buzzfeed reporters read them the entire story word for word, SCO would not have known the implication that they leaked was in the story.
So, no comment on the story because it was not wildly false enough to shoot down, then they see the story…. meetings…. then a statement that makes the earth shattering claim that there is at least one specific claim in the BG story, concerning the relationship between how the evidence was obtained that Trump told Cohen to lie, and SCO, that is, in fact, INACCURATE!! Phew, a person learns something every day, huh? But the subtext is clearly that the information for the story did not come from the SCO. They don’t leak, and as Dub said, you have to sling the propaganda to fix it in the public mind.
Edit: and newsies in the know seem united in thinking that SDNY was the source of this story. They might have fudged up how the evidence was obtained in a not very successful effort to hide they were the source.
The Midnight Lurker
@Adam L Silverman: Thank you, Dr. Silverman. I know that I struggle, and that I am not your brightest pupil but…
1) I knew this.
2) I DID NOT know this!
3) I’m still going to have that drink.
Amir Khalid
@J R in WV:
Take your time. Grieve as long as you need to.
oldgold
@Omnes Omnibus:
Your conclusion is incorrect.
When investigating a sitting CEO, my experience suggests you must be professional, thorough and expeditious.
As to professionalism and thoroughness, I believe Mueller deserves high marks.
Adam L Silverman
@The Midnight Lurker: First off no one here is a pupil. Ya’ll are somewhere between casual acquaintances and extended family. Either way, I’m stuck with you. Second, I reckoned, but it still, on occasion, trips people up.
James E Powell
@PPCLI:
From Day One, the press/media wanted to bury that fact. And in September 2004 the Village was still touting Bush as Our Young Churchill, Great Warrior President, etc.
thalarctosMaritimus
@J R in WV: I’m so sorry about Happy. You gave her a good life, and I hope there’s comfort in that.
Rob Lll
@J R in WV:
Very sorry for your loss. :(
WaterGirl
@J R in WV: So sad for you on the loss of your sweet girl. :: tears ::
The Midnight Lurker
@Adam L Silverman: Ya’ll???? I thought all you damn Yankees said ‘used guys’, or something like that?
And for all the Texas bashing, ‘used guys’ can’t seem to be rid of us.
GxB
@Adam L Silverman: And here I was thinking it was Burton Cummings with a somehow thin mustache.
WaterGirl
@J R in WV:
satby
@J R in WV: Condolences JR. You have her a great life and did right by her at the end. She showed her love in her happy nature. She was a good girl. Big hugs to you.
Martin
@jl: Who wants to open a luxury hotel in Alaska? This way Trump gets his hotel as well.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
this guy is a playwright, he should some kind of award for this
jl
@Martin:
Once you experience a sub-arctic Luxury Lodge, there is no turning back.
The Next Frontier: Alaska’s Best Luxury Lodges
https://www.forbes.com/sites/annabel/2015/06/16/the-next-frontier-alaskas-best-luxury-lodges/#36af881311e0
Elizabelle
@J R in WV: She had a good life with you. It’s so hard to lose a beloved pet. My best to you and Mrs. J R.
Jay
@J R in WV:
So sorry J R,
but Happy will be with you always.
Middlelee
@J R in WV: I’m so sorry that Happy is gone. 15 years is a long time and still not long enough.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@J R in WV: G*d damn it. I know she had a great life with you and Mrs. J R, but it’s such a loss when they go. They leave such big paw prints on our hearts.
I’m sorry for your loss.
TomatoQueen
@J R in WV: Happy must’ve been such a good puppy & I’m so sorry it’s time to say goodbye.
Aleta
@J R in WV: I’m sorry for your loss of a good dog.
FelonyGovt
@J R in WV: I’m so sorry for your loss.
I’m getting whiplash from all these Trump stories. Can’t we have a respite from Infrastructure Week until it’s time (hopefully very soon) to throw him and Pence and all their minions into prison?
MoxieM
@J R in WV: So so sorry for the loss of your dog. May she live forever in your heart.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He is indeed rather amazing.
oldgold
Chuck Rosenberg, who throughout this process has been the best legal talking-head on cable news, is urging moderation in interpreting Mueller’s less than clear statement on the BuzzFeed story.
CaseyL
@J R in WV: I am so sorry. Sounds like Happy was a Most Excellent Dog.
Adam L Silverman
@The Midnight Lurker: I was born and largely raised in the south. To one parent from Colorado and the other from New York.
BlueDWarrior
@oldgold: I tend to believe that the premise of the Buzzfeed story is extremely plausible (if not outright true), but there is still an outstanding question to the availability (or existence) of corroborating documentary evidence.
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I don’t get why NY would do this. It certainly doesn’t help Trump.
Quinerly
Ronan Farrow on the BuzzFeed story:”I can’t speak to Buzzfeed’s sourcing, but, for what it’s worth, I declined to run with parts of the narrative they conveyed based on a source central to the story repeatedly disputing the idea that Trump directly issued orders of that kind.”
Adam L Silverman
@oldgold: Also, the best poker face.
TS (the original)
@The Midnight Lurker: The thread is dead but I want to agree with your statement. I give Mueller no points for this response – especially when he supposedly “never talks”
Sebastian
@J R in WV:
I am sorry for your loss JR. Happy is now in the big dog park in the sky where there are squirrels and tennis balls and treats and belyscratches everywhere.
Bobby Thomson
@SiubhanDuinne: I was skeptical as soon as I saw the Jason “Fitzmas” Leopold byline.
Steve in the ATL
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:
Ah—I knew you were Jewish!
J R in WV
Thanks everyone, you all are so great.
Happy was rescued from a chain in a back yard by a fellow client of our vet clinic, at like 3 am she went out there and stole that dog from her abuser. A Muslim heroine in my book!! I wasn’t supposed t know her name, but I saw it on the records one day, waiting for the vet to come in and look after the puppies.
When we brought her home nearly a year later, she didn’t really know what it was to be a free dog in the forested hillsides of WV, but she knew right away she was happy, so happy we named her for that happiness. I’ll miss her forever, as I do all the great dogs and cats we’ve had over the many years.
At least I got to pet her head and say goodby, which isn’t always the case with our free woods running dogs. Sometimes they just have a physical failure running up along the ridge top, and never come home, which is its own special sadness.
Your sympathy and hugs really help.
Thanks again!
Tazj
@J R in WV: I’m so sorry for the loss of your dog.i She sounds like she was a wonderful dog and you took great care of her.
Brickley Paiste
I knew that story was bullshit the second I read it.
It said that they had sources and had also seen documents and physical evidence. BULLSHIT. Number one the SCO does not leak. Period. Number two, no way in fuck they are going to hand you actual evidence to review.
Just fucking absurd.
Then I read that one of the authors was busted for BS before. Nice. Still has a job in the media. Fuckwad.
Brickley Paiste
@J R in WV:
Goddamn it.
My condolences and I pull my two dogs closer to me.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: I think that’s a safe bet.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@J R in WV: I’m so sorry J R.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@oldgold:
You can only achieve 2 out of 3.
laura
@J R in WV: condolences on the loss of your boon companion Happy. Wishing you tender and warm remembrances.
oldgold
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
No, you can achieve all 3.
You can be thorough and expeditious. It is not easy, but doable – and necessary when the CEO is still running the enterprise.
wasabi gasp
Psychski!!!
Turgidson
@Brickley Paiste: yeah except the story didn’t claim that anyone in the Special Counsel’s office was a source. So they probably didn’t leak. At this point they’ve traded info with SDNY on numerous occasions and talked to god only knows how many witnesses. There are dozens of other potential sources for their story.
jonas
The SCO’s response strikes me as a non-denial denial. It doesn’t say the reporting was completely made up or wrong per se, merely that its characterization of certain things was “not accurate.” To my mind, what this suggests is that there is an ongoing debate in the SCO’s office: I think it’s pretty clear Cohen has claimed that Trump told him to lie to Congress. Makes sense — he’s trying to paint himself as a poor schmuck under Trump’s spell until Gandalf, I mean Mueller, set him free. The SCO has some evidence (as the article suggests) that *may* back Cohen up, but there may also be dissenting opinions or other complicating evidence we don’t know about. Some on Mueller’s team may not be so confident that the evidence of witness tampering is ironclad enough to stand up in court, or in Congress. Hence some of the investigators who think they *are* confident of witness tampering/obstruction have leaked this stuff to Buzzfeed.
Raven Onthill
Mueller’s statement reminds me of Comey’s statement on the Clinton investigation. Kicked up enough dust to cost her the election, but there wasn’t any there, there.
pinacacci
@J R in WV: pup knew pup was adored. Well done, you.
sigyn
@J R in WV: I’m so sorry for your loss. She trusted you to do what’s best for her, and you did.
Miss Bianca
@J R in WV: Aww, J R, so sorry to hear about Happy. Her spirit runs free forever now.