Michael Cohen’s lawyer blamed himself Sunday for helping to fuel an incorrect CNN report that President Donald Trump knew about a 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer ahead of the sit-down.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Media Talkback,” Lanny Davis explained his bombshell walk back of the confirmation.
“I was unsure about the issue of the Trump Tower meeting, and I thought that there were other people that could have been in the room, and that it was up to journalists to go look at that,’’ Davis told the Media Talkback.
When host Howard Kurtz pressed him on his initial off-the-record remarks to CNN, Davis replied: “I was never sure in my confirmation.”
“I was uncertain,’ he said, adding: “I expressed my uncertainty, but not clear enough. So I can understand that they interpreted what I said as a confirmation and have not blamed CNN, I have blamed myself for not being more clear that in my mind, I did not know the details about that meeting and I should not have encouraged any reporter.”
“I thought it was very important not to blame CNN, not to blame anyone other than myself,” he added.
But Kurtz pushed again for clarification.
“You’re saying now as Michael Cohen’s lawyer that you don’t believe your client had any direct knowledge of the president allegedly supposedly ostensibly knew in advance about the Trump Tower meeting with the Russian lawyer,” Kurtz said. “Am I right on that?”
Davis answered: “I can’t tell you what Mr. Cohen has told me except I can say to you that I’m not sure he did and that it requires additional reporting, and I’m not sure he did not.”
“I know that there’s a lot of fuzzy memories here, there are people in and out of the room with Mr. Trump all the time,” he continued, adding: “an assumption is not a fact.”
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