Recently, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews reacted to Special Counsel Mueller publicly announcing that BuzzFeed was inaccurate in its reporting on Trump directing Michael Cohen to lie about his proposal to build a tower Moscow.
Matthews said, “Not accurate is an old term of art for flacks. It doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
As a former national television correspondent, I assure you that it means the piece is provably more untrue than true.
Here’s the Mueller team’s exact rejection of the BuzzFeed story:
“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.” (Emphasis added)
Mueller specifically cites BuzzFeed’s inaccurate reporting on (and characterization of) “statements,” “documents” and “testimony.”
Those three categories constitute a tremendous amount of what comprises legal reporting – whether it be at the local or national level.
If you’re getting those wrong, your piece has failed.
