CNN host Chris Cuomo on Friday acknowledged that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office did not “do the media any favors,” but did “do the president one” when it came out publicly to dispute a Thursday Buzzfeed report.
The “Cuomo Prime Time” discussion between Cuomo and former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal centered around recent news that Mueller’s office characterized a Thursday Buzzfeed report as “not accurate.” The report claimed that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen told prosecutors that President Trump had instructed him to lie to Congress.
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“Although I have to tell you, Mueller didn’t do the media any favors tonight and he did do the President one, because as you saw with Rudy Giuliani and as I’m sure you’ll see with the president himself, this allows them to say, ‘You can’t believe it. You can’t believe what you read, you can’t believe what you hear, you can only believe us. Even the special counsel says that the media doesn’t get it right,'” Cuomo told Katyal.
Katyal responded to Cuomo by using the news to criticize Trump and others who criticize Mueller as “biased.”
“Folks like us have been saying Mueller is a very respected prosecutor, a by the books prosecutor, a former Republican,” he said, “and Trump always accuses him of being biased.” (RELATED: New York Times: Source ‘Familiar With Mr. Cohen’s Testimony’ Disputes Buzzfeed Report)
“Not tonight he won’t,” Cuomo quipped.
Later, President Trump used Twitter to criticize Buzzfeed, calling Friday “a very sad day for journalism.”