CNN Fires Back At Trump

Fox News reports a full-blown war of words between the first family and CNN broke out late Wednesday on Twitter, with the cable network mounting an unprecedented attack on President Trump in a jarring official statement defending a widely questioned story.

The statement from CNN came after the president mocked Watergate legend Carl Bernstein, who co-wrote the disputed report that Trump’s former lawyer was prepared to give damning information about the president to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

CNN continues to stand by the story despite growing skepticism.

Make no mistake, Mr. President, CNN does not lie. We report the news. And we report when people in power tell lies. CNN stands by our reporting and our reporters. There may be many fools in this story but @carlbernstein is not one of them.

— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) August 29, 2018

The scathing message was a response to Trump’s criticism of CNN for standing by a report on the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting, despite ex-Clinton aide Lanny Davis admitting he was an anonymous source and recanting key details he provided CNN for the story. Davis, the high-powered attorney of Trump’s longtime “fixer”-turned-foe Michael Cohen, admitted Monday he was an anonymous source after The Washington Post outed him as a source for its own version of the story.

Bernstein weighed in late Wednesday:

.@realdonaIdtrump- I have spent my life as a journalist bringing the truth to light, through administrations of both parties. No taunt will diminish my commitment to that mission, which is the essential role of a free press. @CNN stands by its story, and I stand by my reporting.

— Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) August 30, 2018

Jim Sciutto, Marshall Cohen and Bernstein wrote CNN’s original story that particularly was damaging to the president, and resulted in countless cable news segments that provided ammunition for anti-Trump pundits.

Davis told BuzzFeed News that he regretted being the anonymous source.

The CNN story, which cited multiple “sources,” claimed Cohen said Trump knew in advance about the Trump Tower sit-down. However, Trump repeatedly has denied any advance knowledge of the meeting, and CNN has stood by its reporting amid widespread criticism.