The  ongoing  case of Trump v. BuzzFeed v. Mueller v. Cohen over the last 48 hours provides just one more example which proves one of the basic principles of not just journalism, but almost every profession.  It is more important to understand WHY than WHO, WHAT, WHERE and WHEN.

To recap.  Thursday night BuzzFeed reported it had sources who claimed the special counsel’s office (SCO) had evidence Donald Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress concerning the timing of negotiations with Russians over a Moscow Trump Tower.  Although other media outlets reporting on the BuzzFeed story prefaced their coverage with comments such as “If true,…” or “We have not yet confirmed the story,” the feeding frenzy was on.  Last night, the SCO issued the following statement.

BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the special counsel’s office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony are not accurate.

Unwilling to take the statement at face value, the lead in the Washington Post’s coverage begins:

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s office on Friday denied an explosive report by BuzzFeed News that his investigators had gathered evidence showing President Trump directed his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about a prospective business deal in Moscow.

Did they really?  There is a big difference between flat out saying Trump did not direct Cohen to lie and letting us know reporting on the evidence which may or may not lead to that conclusion was inaccurate.  I am not going to take sides on this one, which is why I continue to urge followers of this blog to wait until Mueller and his team present the whole story.  But no one asked the most basic question, “Is it possible both parties are right?”  I’m not saying this is the case, but the BuzzFeed story characterized (SCO’s term) the evidence as “internal company emails, text messages, and a cache of other documents.”

At first glance, that does NOT make sense.  If you want to prove Trump personally directed Cohen to lie, the last place you would see that is in emails and text.  Trump does not use either.  But we do know Cohen recorded conversations with Trump.  Isn’t that how Cohen confirmed Trump was lying about the hush money to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal?  What if the SCO questioned the characterization of evidence by BuzzFeed because it does not want anyone to think they would rely on secondary sources?  That would hardly be ironclad proof of a felony.  An email from someone within the organization other than Trump which says “Mr. X told me Mr. Trump is putting pressure on Michael to tell Congress they dropped the Moscow project in January,” can be dismissed by the White House legal team as gossip or hearsay.  I have no doubt if Mueller plans to charge Trump with suborning perjury, it will be based on something more than second-hand information.

Every story about the Trump organization, campaign and tenure in the oval office is beginning to have a common theme.  If nothing else, Trump and his abettors are consistent.  They know only one way to do business, thus the title of today’s post.  Take example number two, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on Wednesday about payments by Cohen to James Gauger, CIO at Liberty University, to rig on-line polls beginning in 2015 to raise Trump’s image and brand prior to the 2016 election.  Consider the following.

• Gauger’s results were dismal.  In the CNBC poll of most successful American businessmen, Trump did not crack the top 100.  So much for hiring the best people.
• Dissatisfied with the results, the Trump Organization paid Gauger much less than the contract called for.  Where have we heard that before?
• One of Gauger’s tasks was to create a Twitter account for #womenforCohen.  This morning, former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks could not understand why anyone would do that.  This is why lawyers should stick to lawyering.  This was a beta test of the algorithms and messaging Gauger would later use to rig polls in Trump’s favor.  Using Trump’s name would have signaled something they were not ready to air publicly.

The only person who seems to get this is frequent Morning Joe panelist Donny Deutsch an advertising executive who has known both Trump and Cohen for years.  (How close?  Last January, New York Magazine reported Deutsch was dating Mrs. Trump #2 Marla Maples.)  Deutsch consistently points out Trump’s management style in the White House should come as no surprise.  It is an extension of Trump Organization “business as usual,” which explains a lot.  It also explains why the media continues to make the same mistakes over and over.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP