Rushing to spew as much damage control as possible, the mainstream media tried its best to recover from the Jan. 17 BuzzFeed article by Jason Leopold claiming two sources inside the Special Counsel investigation corroborated that President Donald Trump told his former personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a Moscow Trump Tower project. When Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office disputed the story Jan. 18, the fake news media did nothing but make excuses. BuzzFeed said it stands by Leopold’s story but offers nothing to back it up. In a rare moment of honesty, CNN’s legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin admitted it made the media look bad. Toobin, of course, is an integral part of CNN’s war on Trump, exaggerating every unverified news story to call for Trump’s impeachment, or, at the very least, draw unwarranted conclusions.
Toobin’s spent considerable time justifying his anti-Trump bias while debating his former Harvard law professor, Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz has been skewered by Toobin for taking Trump’s side on issues not proven by the press. Dershowitz tries to remind his once favorite student to not rush to judgment, affording Trump the presumption of innocence. CNN’s reporting style has been one of “mobbing” Trump, always assuming the worst, exactly what happened with the BuzzFeed article. “Reinforces every bad stereotype about the news media,” Toobin admitted Jan. 18 on the Anderson Cooper Show. “A bunch of leftists who are dying to get the president and they’re willing to lie to do it,” Toobin said was the “bigger message.” Beyond the BuzzFeed article, it hints that Mueller may not find the blockbuster Russian collusion hoped for by the media.
Mueller was so disgusted by the fake news at BuzzFeed that he had to correct the record. While BuzzFeed stands by Leopold’s story, they know they have no facts to back it up, splitting hairs about what parts of the story Mueller found “inaccurate.” Mueller didn’t like Leopold implying his sources were on the Mueller team or closely allied law enforcement like the FBI. Once the BuzzFeed article came out CNN proclaimed they had their “smoking gun” to impeach Trump on Russian collusion. Every major anti-Trump news outlet decried the BuzzFeed article as proof of Russia collusion, but, more importantly, high-crimes-and-misdemeanors needed for impeachment. Toobin had that rare moment on CNN that he was part of fake news horde, seeking any-and-all uncorroborated, unnamed sources to try-and-convict Trump in the in the court of public opinion.
Mueller’s spokesman Peter Carr admonished BuzzFeed for insisting that Mueller had testimony and corroborating evidence, proving Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress. BuzzFeed‘s “characterization of documents and testimony” obtained by Mueller “are not accurate,” said Carr. Yet the anti-Trump media closed ranks, demanding Mueller detail which parts of the story were inaccurate. When the Special Counsel says they have no such documentation or testimony verifying Cohen’s account of events, it tells the whole story. Anti-Trump media want a “smoking gun” but so far have only concocted one to hype up the anti-Trump press. Toobin’s “ah ha” moment of national TV won’t last long, as CNN insists that its reporters and pundits attack Trump at all costs, regardless of the facts. Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis clarified that Cohen was not the one responsible for BuzzFeed’s story.
Showing that BuzzFeed won’t hold Leopold accountable for reporting “fake news,” Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith insisted Mueller “make clear what he’s disputing.” Smith knows that Leopold took liberty Jan. 18 story to state that the Mueller team possessed the corroborating. Instead of owning BuzzFeed’s shoddy journalism, Smith doubled down, insisting his story will somehow be proven out. Smith demanded Mueller “maker clear what he’s disputing,” when the Special Counsel could not have been more clear that they possessed no corroborating information that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress. Rushing to BuzzFeed’s defense, the Washington Post, the nation’s most anti-Trump journal, insisted Leopold’s article never said anything about the Special Counsel have corroborating evidence. Leopold’s story clearly implied Mueller had corroborating evidence against Trump.
Illustrating for all to see an inside look at fake news, BuzzFeed personifies the fake news industry, using unnamed sources to advance uncorroborated theories and unnamed testimony to advance the publication’s political agenda. “As we’ve re-confirmed our reporting, we’ve seen no indication that any specific aspect our story is inaccurate,” said BuzzFeed. When politics intercedes in today’s journalism, it plays havoc on credibility. Readers don’t know whom to believe when reporters use unnamed sources to corroborate news stories. “A very sad day for journalists, but a great day for our country,” Trump said, referring to BuzzFeed’s fake news story. Learning about fake news helps readers ferret out the truth from pure propaganda, something designed to advance political agendas. Fake news is all about using unnamed sources to advance political agendas, the opposite of real journalism..
