Updated
The Special Counsel's office has issued a rare public
statement disputing the accuracy of a news report saying President
Donald Trump told his personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to
Congress.
Key points:
- BuzzFeed reported Cohen said Mr Trump directed him to lie about a Moscow project
- Mr Trump's lawyer said that was "categorically false"
- Democrats say if Mr Trump did tell Cohen to lie, that would constitute criminal activity
The statement by Robert Mueller's office did not cite any specific errors, but said: "BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterisation of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate."
BuzzFeed News, citing two unnamed law-enforcement sources, had reported Cohen told investigators working for Mr Mueller that Mr Trump had directed him to lie about building a skyscraper in Moscow while he was running for president.
The report said Mr Mueller's office learned of Mr Trump's instructions to Cohen through internal Trump Organisation emails, witness interviews, text messages and other documents, and that Cohen told prosecutors about the directive in an interview.
Democrats in the US Senate and House of Representatives said they planned to examine the veracity of the report.
Mr Trump said on Twitter that Cohen was lying in order to get less prison time.
Meanwhile, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in an email statement:
"Any suggestion … that the President counselled his former lawyer Michael Cohen to lie is categorically false."BuzzFeed responded by saying it stood by its reporting and, "urged the Special Counsel to make clear what he's disputing".
'We will do what's necessary'
Cohen, who once said he was so loyal to Mr Trump that he would "take a bullet" for him, is scheduled to begin a three-year prison sentence in March after pleading guilty to charges that include lying to Congress.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said if Mr Trump did tell Cohen to lie, that would constitute criminal activity.
We know that the President has engaged in a long pattern of obstruction. Directing a subordinate to lie to Congress is a federal crime. The @HouseJudiciary Committee’s job is to get to the bottom of it, and we will do that work.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the allegation that Mr Trump may have directed Cohen to lie under oath "is among the most serious to date".
"We will do what's necessary to find out if it's true," he said on Twitter.Some Senate Intelligence Committee investigators hope to ask Cohen about the BuzzFeed report when he testifies behind closed doors in February, a committee source said.
'Seismic' allegation
Legal experts say the allegation exposed Mr Trump to a new level of risk in an investigation that has already resulted in convictions of or guilty pleas from four former campaign aides, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
"It's a seismic event," said Andy Wright, an associate White House counsel under former Democratic president Barack Obama.
Cohen adviser Lanny Davis declined to comment on the BuzzFeed report and said Cohen also would not comment. Cohen's lawyer, Guy Petrillo, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Trump denounced Cohen as a "rat" after he began cooperating with investigators while Cohen said he regretted giving "my blind loyalty to a man who doesn't deserve it".
Directing or encouraging someone to lie under oath is a crime known as subornation of perjury, but the report also raises questions about obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
While the Justice Department has previously concluded that a sitting president cannot be charged while in office, such an allegation, if found true, could fuel impeachment proceedings in Congress.
"Suborning perjury has been a key part of earlier instances where the House has decided to move against a president in the extreme grounds of impeachment," Democratic senator Tim Kaine told reporters.
Mr Trump repeatedly has denied collusion with Russia and slammed Mr Mueller's investigation as a "witch hunt".
Russia has rejected US intelligence findings that Moscow interfered in US politics in the 2016 election in an effort to boost Mr Trump.
Democrats, who took over the US House of Representatives this month, have generally been cautious regarding any talk of impeachment to remove Mr Trump from office, although some rank-and-file members have pushed for such a resolution.
It would face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Mr Trump's fellow Republicans have a majority.
AP/Reuters
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