CNN’s Toobin: BuzzFeed ‘Bombshell’ ‘Reinforces’ View ‘Media Are a Bunch of Leftist Liars’ ‘Willing to Lie’ to ‘Get’ Trump

After Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office disputed a Friday “bombshell” BuzzFeed report, based on anonymous sources, that claimed President Donald Trump ordered his then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen to lie about a proposed Trump Tower project in Russia, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said BuzzFeed’s disputed story “reinforces” the belief that many Americans have that the media “are a bunch of leftists liars” who are willing to lie to “get” Trump.

“This is a bad day for the news media. Let’s not kid ourselves,” Toobin said on CNN. “The larger message that a lot of people are going to take from this story is that the news media are a bunch of leftist liars who are dying to get the president, and they’re willing to lie to do it.”

Toobin said he did not “think that’s true,” but again added that “this is a bad day for us” because “it reinforces every bad stereotype about the media.”

BuzzFeed stood by its disputed report, based on anonymous sources, even after a spokesman for Mueller’s office said the outlet’s story was “not accurate.”

“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 spokesperson Peter Carr said in a Friday statement.