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DetlefK

(16,423 posts)
Sat Jan 19, 2019, 11:53 AM Jan 2019

Here's why Mueller's denial of the Buzzfeed-article could mean anything:

"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"


Let's compare this statement with the very first sentence of the article it refers to:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonleopold/trump-russia-cohen-moscow-tower-mueller-investigation

President Donald Trump directed

his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie

to Congress

about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow,


If the lying was Cohen's idea and Trump went along with it, the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.
If Trump ordered Cohen to lie not to Congress but to law-enforcement, the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.
If Trump ordered Cohen to lie to Congress not about the negotiations but about something else, the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.

Trump also supported a plan,

set up by Cohen,

to visit Russia during the presidential campaign,

in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and

jump-start the tower negotiations.

“Make it happen,” the sources said Trump told Cohen.


If the plan was not from Cohen, the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.
If the plan was not to meet in Russia but elsewhere or in another way, the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.
If the plan was not to meet Putin but somebody else from the Kremlin, e.g. from his inner circle, the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.
If the meeting was not supposed to be about Trump Tower Moscow but something else, the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.
If Trump didn't say "Make it happen", the Buzzfeed-article is not accurate.



And on and on and on. You can do this with every sentence.




And the part where Mueller's spokesman says that "BuzzFeed's ... characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate"

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.


If there is only one witness, Buzzfeed's characterization of documents and testimony is not accurate.
If the witnesses are not from the Trump Organization but from his campaign or the RNC or whatever, Buzzfeed's characterization of documents and testimony is not accurate.
If the emails are not internal company emails but sent via other email-addresses, Buzzfeed's characterization of documents and testimony is not accurate.
If this is not corroborated by internal company emails AND text-messages AND multiple "other documents", Buzzfeed's characterization of documents and testimony is not accurate.







Mueller didn't say what's wrong or how much is wrong. It could be anything, from the central accusation to a minute detail.
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Here's why Mueller's denial of the Buzzfeed-article could mean anything: (Original Post) DetlefK Jan 2019 OP
I wish Mueller's team had given hints such as saying it's "not completely accurate" Liberty Belle Jan 2019 #1
K&R 2naSalit Jan 2019 #2
IMO, Mueller is telling Congress to wait on impeachment. Qutzupalotl Jan 2019 #3

Liberty Belle

(9,535 posts)
1. I wish Mueller's team had given hints such as saying it's "not completely accurate"
Sat Jan 19, 2019, 12:40 PM
Jan 2019

or "the story contains some discrepancies" or "not everything in the report is correct."

If the central premise was correct but smaller details were wrong, a statement like that would have been more appropriate.

Qutzupalotl

(14,320 posts)
3. IMO, Mueller is telling Congress to wait on impeachment.
Sat Jan 19, 2019, 12:54 PM
Jan 2019

Forcing them to, almost. They can’t run with this story anymore.

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