CNN’s Carl Bernstein, the man made co-famous through his historic Watergate reporting, lied to us — to all of us. And he is now engaged in a cover up to protect this lie.

I am not even talking about his fake news about the Trump Tower meeting, which I will get to in a bit — I am talking about a flat-out, provable lie.

In a July 27 piece of very fake news Bernstein co-wrote with CNN anchor (and former Obama official) Jim Sciutto and researcher Marshall Cohen, Bernstein declaratively informs us, “Contacted by CNN, one of Cohen’s attorneys, Lanny Davis, declined to comment.”

That statement is a lie, a proven lie, a bald-faced lie, because we now know for a fact that Lanny Davis did NOT decline to comment. What’s more, Davis was a CNN source for that steaming pile of very fake news.

In other words… the anti-Trump Carl Bernstein did not only spread fake news, the anti-Trump Carl Bernstein published a straight-up lie in his fake news, reported something he knew was not true.

Let’s back up a bit…

On July 27, Bernstein and his two CNN co-conspirators dropped the bombshell that President Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, would testify that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting.

If true, this of course would be a very big deal because the president has denied any foreknowledge of the meeting involving his son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner, various campaign officials, and some Russians (one of whom has deep ties to high-level Democrats with names that rhyme with Mobama, Fillary, and Heinz Ketchup).

Nevertheless, even to those of us who see the Trump Tower story as the golden snipe in the snipe hunt that is the Russian collusion hoax, Trump lying about such a thing would still be a pretty big deal.

And Bernstein and Co. were certain Trump lied, and Bernstein wanted you to be certain, because Bernstein now had Trump right where he wanted him after sources-sources-sources with knowledge told Berstein…

By Cohen’s account, Trump approved going ahead with the meeting with the Russians, according to sources.

And then Bernstein’s sources-sources-sources with knowledge told Bernstein…

Cohen is willing to make that assertion to special counsel Robert Mueller, the sources said.

And Bernstein swears on a stack of Bob Woodward’s best-sellers that those sources-sources-sources were not Lanny Davis…

Contacted by CNN, one of Cohen’s attorneys, Lanny Davis, declined to comment.

Except…

Lanny Davis was CNN’s source, and we know this because Davis burned himself and admitted he was the source.

Which begs the question: Why did Bernstein lie? Why Did Bernstein tell us Davis was not the source when Davis was the source?

Personally, and this is just one man’s informed opinion, I think CNN just gets off on lying, on hoaxing the public. After all, it was a pretty dumb thing to lie about, unless you are just into lying, and CNN seems to enjoy lying, well, just because.

Anyway, we also know Bernstein’s Trump Tower story is fake news because Bernstein’s source himself — the aforementioned Lanny Davis — has admitted the story is not true, and since the entire story is about what Michael Cohen says Trump knew and Lanny Davis is Michael Cohen’s attorney, there is simply no way for Bernstein and CNN to defend the story. (And this is why Bernstein and CNN cannot hide behind the shield that other sources back up the story, as CNN’s chief conspiracy theorist Brian Stetler is attempting to do.)

If that is not enough to convince you the story is fake news, while under oath, Cohen told congress he knew nothing about Trump’s foreknowledge of the Trump Tower meeting.

This seems like a good time to recap:

1) Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame told us sources told him Michael Cohen would testify that Trump knew in advance of the Trump Tower meeting. 2) Carl Bernstein, who was played by Dustin Hoffman in the movie (which had to be a tad humiliating when the other guy is played by Robert Redford), told us Lanny Davis was NOT his source. 3) NONE of this is true (except the Dustin Hoffman being humiliating thing). 4) And now, just like a certain president who dug in and denied all wrongdoing, even as all the president’s men were exposed and publicly shamed, Bernstein is standing by his story.

As Breitbart’s Matt Boyle reports, CNN’s refusal to retract this very fake news, even after their own source (who is also the horse’s mouthpiece) has admitted it’s not true, is having a very damaging effect on CNN’s morale.

How could it not?

CNN blew this story bigly, CNN’s own source has recanted, the defenses have all crumbed, and CNN’s still stands by it?

Meanwhile, one of my sources (who is not Lanny Davis) informs me that ever since his story fell apart, the 74-year-old Bernstein sits in a dark corner of the CNN break room swilling soy milk and muttering “I am not a fake news crook.”

RETRACTION: That stuff about Bernstein in the break room is a lie ( I do, however, stand by my reporting that Lanny Davis was not my source).

See how easy it is to issue a retraction when you are not a fake news crook with an enemies list filled with the name TRUMP?

Does no one love Tricky Carl enough to explain to him that the cover up is always worse than the fake news crime?

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.