Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal attorney, has filed suit against Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed regarding their involvement in the so-called “Trump dossier.” (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
by Daniel Chaitin | Washington Examiner
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, has filed lawsuits against Fusion GPS and BuzzFeed for their roles in creating and publicizing the “Trump dossier” which makes a number of salacious and unverified claims about Trump’s ties to Russia.
In the lawsuits, Cohen condemns the dossier — compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, who was working for Fusion GPS, and published in full by BuzzFeed — for its “false and defamatory” allegations.
Cohen argues the dossier caused “harm to his personal and professional reputation, current business interests, and the impairment of business opportunities.”
The dossier alleges that Cohen met secretly with Russian officials in Prague during the campaign — assertions Cohen denies. Trump and his campaign are under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller and congressional committees for possible collusion with the Russians.
The dossier was published in full a year ago by BuzzFeed in January 2017, even through the outlet admitted it contained “unverified” allegations and “errors.”
In a tweet Cohen wrote, “enough is enough.”
Enough is enough of the #fake #RussianDossier. Just filed a defamation action against @BuzzFeedNews for publishing the lie filled document on @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and me!
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) January 10, 2018
Cohen’s complaint, filed in New York, names a number of BuzzFeed employees, including Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith.
BuzzFeed defended its decision to publish the dossier in a statement Tuesday evening.
“The dossier is, and continues to be, the subject of active investigations by Congress and intelligence agencies,” BuzzFeed News spokesperson Matt Mittenthal said. “It was presented to two successive presidents, and has been described in detail by news outlets around the world. Its interest to the public is obvious. This is not the first time Trump’s personal lawyer has attacked the free press, and we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court.”
Separately Smith wrote an op-ed that ran in the New York Times saying he is “proud”Buzzfeed published the dossier.
Fusion GPS has yet to put out a statement.