Disputed BuzzFeed story creates media firestorm

A disputed story by BuzzFeed News that set off a flurry of speculation about whether President Trump obstructed justice in the Russia investigation has increased scrutiny of the media.

The news outlet reported late Thursday two federal law enforcement officials, who were not named, had confirmed Trump directed his now-former longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations for a Trump Tower project in Moscow that took place during the 2016 presidential campaign. The law enforcement officials said Trump told Cohen to claim negotiations to build the tower ended months earlier than they actually had. Cohen allegedly told special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, that Trump had given the demand to lie to Congress.

No other news organization has yet corroborated the story, and by the end of the day Friday, Mueller’s office issued a statement disputing it.

“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,” special counsel spokesman Peter Carr said.

It was a rare move for the special counsel, whose statements responding to news stories have been extremely scarce in the last year and half.

From there, the criticism piled up.

Intercept journalist Glenn Greenwald, who broke the story of U.S. mass surveillance aided by former Central Intelligence Agency analyst Edward Snowden and who has been highly critical of Russia investigation coverage, called the media coverage of the BuzzFeed story “hysterical,” quipping “Why don’t people trust media??”

“This a bad day for the news media,” CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “This hurts everybody,” Cooper responded.

Journalist Ronan Farrow, who helped expose the sex abuse allegations against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, said he did not know who BuzzFeed’s sources were, but he had declined to run with parts of the story because “a source central to the story” repeatedly disputed that Trump had directed Cohen to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower project.

“All who care about the Constitution should let facts dictate conclusions. And remember there will be political as well as legal judgment for this Administration,” retired CBS News journalist Dan Rather said.

Despite the criticisms, BuzzFeed stood by its story. Editor-in-chief Ben Smith said he remained confident in the sourcing and called on Mueller to clarify what he was disputing in the story.

The Trump story was the latest example in a string of flubs by journalists reporting on Trump and his presidential campaign’s connections to Russia.

In December 2017, CNN reported WikiLeaks and Donald Trump Jr. had corresponded about hacked documents ten days before they were released to the public. CNN later issued a correction saying the president’s son had actually received the email after the documents had been released publicly.

That same month, ABC News suspended a reporter after he reported Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn was prepared to testify that Trump ordered him to make contact with the Russians during the campaign. ABC clarified that Trump made the request after the election.

In another instance, three CNN employees resigned over a retracted story connecting former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci with investigations into a Russian banker.

Trump didn’t forgo the opportunity to bash the media in response to the disputed BuzzFeed story.

“A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!” he tweeted Friday night, adding, “Fake News is truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”