Updated at 7:10 p.m. with special counsel's office disputing the BuzzFeed report.

WASHINGTON — Two Texas Democrats accused President Donald Trump of committing a felony after a report that Michael Cohen, his longtime lawyer, told investigators that Trump directed him to lie to Congress about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Lying to Congress is a felony. So is encouraging perjury. But Friday night, the special counsel's office took the unprecedented step of disputing the report that stirred an uproar.

Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which has investigated Russia's meddling in the election, said Thursday night that Trump should resign and that if he doesn't, he should be impeached.

If the @BuzzFeed story is true, President Trump must resign or be impeached. — Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) January 18, 2019

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, a member of the Judiciary Committee, which would handle impeachment, stopped short of calling for Trump's removal but stated flatly that he had suborned perjury to cover up collusion with Russia and stymie the House inquiry into Russia's election meddling.

Incredible. @realDonaldTrump suborned #perjury so that @MichaelCohen212 would lie to #Congress and obstruct its investigation into whether a hostile foreign power subverted our democracy-oh, and his campaign may have colluded, too #trumprussia #Collusion https://t.co/DLObIV2fZ3 — Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) January 18, 2019

The Buzzfeed report posted Thursday night cited two unnamed law enforcement sources saying that Cohen told the special counsel's office that Trump had encouraged him to lie to Congress last year.

On Friday night, the office of Robert Mueller issued a statement asserting that BuzzFeed's description of testimony and evidence collected so far was "not accurate."

UPDATE: A spokesperson for the special counsel is disputing BuzzFeed News’ report. https://t.co/BEoMKiDypn pic.twitter.com/GWWfGtyhaE — BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) January 19, 2019

The editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed, Ben Smith, tweeted that they stand by their reporting.

In response to the statement tonight from the Special Counsel's spokesman: We stand by our reporting and the sources who informed it, and we urge the Special Counsel to make clear what he's disputing. — Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) January 19, 2019

Via Twitter, Trump asserted that Cohen was "Lying to reduce his jail time!"

Kevin Corke, @FoxNews “Don’t forget, Michael Cohen has already been convicted of perjury and fraud, and as recently as this week, the Wall Street Journal has suggested that he may have stolen tens of thousands of dollars....” Lying to reduce his jail time! Watch father-in-law! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2019

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway didn't dispute that Cohen may have told investigators that Trump had directed him to lie to Congress.

She told Fox Business Network that "A. the President has weighed in on this on Twitter and B., I'm very concerned that law enforcement officials are the ones leaking. ... That should send a chill down everybody's spine. People should not be leaking information from investigations."

In November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about negotiations with Russians for the potentially lucrative skyscraper deal in Moscow, including how long they lasted and the extent of Trump's personal involvement.

In writing and under oath in person, he had testified that the talks ended in January 2016. In fact, they actually continued through June 2016.

In court papers filed in November 2018 when Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, federal investigators alleged that Trump's attorney had lied in order to protect the president politically. https://www.justice.gov/file/1115596/download

Court papers filed by Mueller's team with Cohen's guilty plea alleged that "COHEN made the false statements to (1) minimize links between the Moscow Project and Individual 1 and (2) give the false impression that the Moscow Project ended before `the Iowa caucus and...the very first primary.' "

Trump is "Individual 1."

Texas Republicans in Congress remained silent Friday about the latest allegations.

Presidential historian Jon Meacham noted Friday that obstruction of justice — a crime that would include directing others to lie to Congress or investigators — formed the basis of the first article of impeachment prepared against Richard Nixon.

The first article of impeachment against Nixon was just this: obstruction by directing others to lie. This is not hysteria or hyperventilating. It’s history. — Jon Meacham (@jmeacham) January 18, 2019

During the campaign, Trump insisted he had no business interests in Russia, a claim he has repeatedly made as president, as well. But in court documents, Cohen said he had regularly briefed Trump about the negotiations during the first half of 2016 — though the documents don't suggest that Trump personally had encouraged him to lie to Congress.

After confessing in November that he had misled Congress, Cohen said he had done so out of loyalty to Trump and to protect him politically. Earlier last year, Cohen had pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other crimes.

The BuzzFeed report took the narrative a significant step further, by implicating Trump in Cohen's perjury. The report says Cohen had told Mueller's office that the president had directed him to deceive Congress about the Trump Tower talks.

The report says that Mueller's office has interviews with other Trump Organization employees to back up Cohen's claim that Trump directed him personally to lie to Congress, along with company emails and documents.

The allegation that the President of the United States may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date. We will do what’s necessary to find out if it’s true. https://t.co/GljBAFqOjh — Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 18, 2019

Democrats said that if the report is accurate, Trump must be held to account.

"The allegation that the President of the United States may have suborned perjury before our committee in an effort to curtail the investigation and cover up his business dealings with Russia is among the most serious to date," wrote Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "We will do what's necessary to find out if it's true."

Based on this very incriminating Buzzfeed article, wondering if @realDonaldTrump is going to tweet "No Subornation of Perjury!" Doesn't quite roll off the tongue like "No Collusion!"



Oh, and here's a fun fact. Nixon resigned not because of the crime, but because of the cover up. https://t.co/zVMMwZEnjx — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 18, 2019

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said the report indicates that Trump committed obstruction of justice and other felonies. "It is time for the House Judiciary Committee to start holding hearings to establish a record of whether @POTUS committed high crimes," he tweeted.

Castro's brother, Julián Castro, a presidential candidate and former housing secretary in the Obama administration, said Friday that despite the BuzzFeed report, it's premature to impeach Trump.

Presidential candidate @JulianCastro says if Buzzfeed's report that Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie under oath is confirmed, Pres. Trump "should be impeached immediately": "But let's not trip over ourselves — first make sure that it's true." https://t.co/f8u2wc159S pic.twitter.com/bsUCg7hNpw — The View (@TheView) January 18, 2019

"I believe that they should wait for ... the Mueller report," he said on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Later on The View, Castro made much the same point, saying that if the allegations are confirmed, Trump "should be impeached immediately" but "let's not trip over ourselves — first, make sure that it's true."

Stumping in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, Castro said that as president, he would not pardon Trump for any crimes that might force him from office.