Michael Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, took the fall Sunday for a CNN story that suggested President Trump had advance knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting with Russians to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.
“I thought it was important not to blame CNN, not to blame anyone other than myself,” Davis said on Fox News’ “Media Buzz.” “I even wrote a book about taking responsibility.”
Davis admitted he was a source for a triple-bylined July CNN story that said Cohen was present with Trump when the then-candidate learned about the Russians’ offer to help his campaign and gave the OK for the meeting.
The article cited “sources with knowledge.” Davis said he suspected Trump might have known of the meeting in advance and had hoped the veteran CNN journalists, including Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein, would dig into the story. His hunch wasn’t meant to be taken as fact, he said.
“It’s the lesson that I have learned,” he said. “If I’m not certain, even on background, I should not be asking reporters to do investigative work.”
CNN stood by the story and its reporters.