CNN’s Tapper denies media ‘hysteria’ over BuzzFeed report

CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday denied any “hysteria” on his network over a recent report that President Trump directed his personal attorney to lie to Congress about a deal with Russia.

Trump’s defenders on Sunday pushed back on the report by blaming the media for seizing on the story, which Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani characterized as “phony.”

“The reality is, yesterday BuzzFeed published a story that was scandalous. It was horrible. They should be sued, under investigation,” Giuliani said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That’s because you have a hysteria going on in the media that interprets everything against Donald Trump.”

“There’s no hysteria here, sir,” Tapper replied.

{mosads}BuzzFeed reported last week that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress about a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. The report claimed that special counsel Robert Mueller’s office had evidence to prove the claim, however the special counsel’s office disputed the accuracy of the story, calling the “characterization … not accurate.” It is not clear which parts of the story Mueller’s office disputed, and BuzzFeed stands by its reporting.

Vice President Mike Pence in a separate appearance on “Fox News Sunday” blamed “the national media’s willingness to assume the worst about the president.”

“It was remarkable what we saw happening for 24 hours in the media on the basis of the report that appeared in BuzzFeed, and I just think it’s one of the reasons why people are so frustrated with many in the national media and the constant obsession on this,” Pence said.