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berni_mccoy

(23,018 posts)
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 05:19 PM Jan 2019

CNN: Trump's Team Contacted Mueller Morning After Buzzfeed Report!

Later that day, Carr made the unprecedented press release regarding the accuracy of the Buzzfeed report...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/21/politics/rudy-giuliani-robert-mueller-buzzfeed/index.html

President Donald Trump's legal team reached out to special counsel Robert Mueller's office Friday morning after BuzzFeed published an explosive report suggesting Trump directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Moscow, Rudy Giuliani told CNN.

Giuliani, who is Trump's attorney, would not provide further details about what they said to Mueller's office. Friday evening, special counsel spokesman Peter Carr issued a rare statement rejecting the central claim in the BuzzFeed article, that Mueller has corroborating evidence (including testimony from Cohen) indicating Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress about the deal.

The statement was drafted internally within the special counsel's office, which made the decision to release it, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The deputy attorney general's office, which oversees the special counsel, was only given a heads up it was coming Friday evening.

Carr declined to comment to CNN about any communication from the Trump legal team.


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CNN: Trump's Team Contacted Mueller Morning After Buzzfeed Report! (Original Post) berni_mccoy Jan 2019 OP
Wow. SunSeeker Jan 2019 #1
Certainly there were threats. C_U_L8R Jan 2019 #2
I've said all along they're all republicans.l blueinredohio Jan 2019 #3
I called this on DU right after the Carr statement BluegrassDem Jan 2019 #4
Sounds about right. I bet most of the Buzzfeed report is 100% accurate. berni_mccoy Jan 2019 #8
Yep. Buzzfeed has it all correct I bet you. Something smells here. triron Jan 2019 #11
Something has never added up in all this D_Master81 Jan 2019 #5
Mueller will do the RIGHT thing... hmmm. Joe941 Jan 2019 #6
Mueller needs to act fast. Kingofalldems Jan 2019 #7
This does not surprise me. My opinion of the likeliest scenario? FreepFryer Jan 2019 #9
I agree...Buzzfeed is only guilty of putting out Mueller's cards before he was ready BluegrassDem Jan 2019 #10
Isn't Rudy saying he listened to all the tapes (for Laura PourMeADrink Jan 2019 #15
Post removed Post removed Jan 2019 #12
Hope it's not Mueller. More likely Whitaker. triron Jan 2019 #13
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Joe941 Jan 2019 #14
could be just more chum in the water from Rudy Grasswire2 Jan 2019 #16

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
1. Wow.
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 05:25 PM
Jan 2019

Yep, I see Whitaker, Carr's ultimate boss, insisting on a statement refuting at least some aspect of the article, no matter cryptic it had to be.

 

BluegrassDem

(1,693 posts)
4. I called this on DU right after the Carr statement
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 05:28 PM
Jan 2019

I said that the DOJ forced a statement out. Trump told Whitaker to do something to diffuse the situation.

 

berni_mccoy

(23,018 posts)
8. Sounds about right. I bet most of the Buzzfeed report is 100% accurate.
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 05:57 PM
Jan 2019

They might have semantics wrong on one thing.

triron

(21,914 posts)
11. Yep. Buzzfeed has it all correct I bet you. Something smells here.
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 11:07 PM
Jan 2019

Somebody set this up and it's not Mueller (I hope).

D_Master81

(1,822 posts)
5. Something has never added up in all this
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 05:35 PM
Jan 2019

I mean Buzzfeed releases a bombshell report and we all remember how tepid the pushback was. It was attacking buzzfeed and saying they were offended they had to answer such questions. But as was noted here on the board, even on Fox a surrogate didn’t deny the story. Then at night Mueller’s office releases a cryptic statement denying parts of the story but not saying it’s a false story. Then Team Trump and everyone on the right begins to deny and attack and go on the offensive, but they didn’t before the statement. Yet buzzfeed doesn’t back down and says their sources are telling them not to. Which goes back to Mueller never said the story was false.

FreepFryer

(7,077 posts)
9. This does not surprise me. My opinion of the likeliest scenario?
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 06:20 PM
Jan 2019

With the impeachment drum pounding in their ears after the Buzzfeed story broke, Trump et al contact Mueller and point to various factual inaccuracies in the Buzzfeed piece (whatever their scope or centrality), claiming aggrieved status and threatening to use them to attack the integrity of the investigation and/or on appeal unless Mueller makes a statement repudiating the story in full.

Knowing they cannot provide the public with information involved in the investigation, Mueller et al instead decide to issue their (vague, unspecific, variably interpretable) statement asserting mischaracterizations of specific documents and testimony and nothing else.

No one is left happy, but the investigation continues and their buggy suspect relaxes, ever so slightly, creating time for the political process to continue to develop.

 

BluegrassDem

(1,693 posts)
10. I agree...Buzzfeed is only guilty of putting out Mueller's cards before he was ready
Mon Jan 21, 2019, 10:53 PM
Jan 2019

The Dems were freaking out and was ready to start impeachment next week (as would be necessary) and Mueller wasn't ready for this and they needed to diffuse it quick.

 

Laura PourMeADrink

(42,770 posts)
15. Isn't Rudy saying he listened to all the tapes (for
Tue Jan 22, 2019, 01:22 AM
Jan 2019

Trump telling Cohen to lie) and didn't hear that? Don't know all they details...just sounds like justification for WH to force statement? Didn't BF mention tapes?

Response to berni_mccoy (Original post)

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