It would render Mr Trump's presidency terminal. Telling someone to commit a crime is pretty much akin to committing the crime yourself.

Slap down

But so incendiary was the report that Mr Mueller did something he has studiously avoided since being appointed 20 months ago to oversee an investigation into Mr Trump's 2016 campaign and claims of Russian meddling; he went public, outside a courtroom.

"BuzzFeed's description of specific statements to the Special Counsel's Office, and characterisation of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen's Congressional testimony are not accurate," said a spokesman for Mr Mueller late on Friday.

As slap downs go – especially given Mr Mueller's previous silence on the growing wave of breathless reports about his investigation – this was stunning and unequivocal.

Michael Cohen has already admitted to breaking campaign finance laws over the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. AP

Particularly for those who rushed to judgment on the original BuzzFeed report, which no other media organisation was able to match.

That includes House Democrats who flagged they would launch their own inquiries into the explosive claims.


"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," said Democrat chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff.

"We will do what's necessary to find out if it's true."

"A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!", Donald Trump wrote in a tweet, for once dropping his usual attacks on Robert Mueller's "witchhunt". ALEX BRANDON

Under siege

For Mr Trump and his supporters the whole episode is yet more proof of a presidency under siege from "fake news" accusers and a press corps desperate to break the big story that ejects him from the White House.

"A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country!" Mr Trump wrote in a tweet, for once dropping his usual attacks on Mr Mueller's "witchhunt".

"Many people are saying that the Mainstream Media will have a very hard time restoring credibility because of the way they have treated me over the past 3 years (including the election lead-up)," he added on Saturday.

The President's glee is palpable, and may turn out to be justified.


Robert Mueller said a BuzzFeed report that his team had uncovered evidence Donald Trump directed his former attorney Michael Cohen to lie before Congress was inaccurate. Bloomberg

But it will most likely be short-lived.

Since its inception in May 2017, the Mueller probe has been the President's personal dreadnought of doom, its hulking presence only barely visible over the horizon. Yet there are signs it's inching closer to the White House.

Mr Mueller's near-complete silence has meant that most of what we know about the investigation has come tangentially from the various indictments and court cases it has produced.

Witness flipping

There have also been the high-profile "flipping" of witnesses such as Cohen, who is widely regarded as the greatest danger to the President given his long and intimate association as his personal "fixer" for the best part of a decade.

He has already admitted guilt over breaking campaign finance laws linked to the payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both claimed to have had affairs with Mr Trump.

As the investigation delved into new areas, no fewer than five former advisors to Mr Trump have either been indicted, or pleaded guilty to crimes. Mr Mueller's list of victims stands at more than 30 names.


New claims continue to emerge about the President's men. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Cohen paid a small technology firm to rig online polls for Mr Trump in 2016.

The New York Times published a story on January 11 that law enforcement officials became so alarmed about the President's behaviour in the days after he fired former FBI director James Comey in May 2017 that they began looking into whether he was working on behalf of Russia against American interests.

The report elicited the extraordinary statement from Mr Trump, speaking on the south lawn to reporters a few days later: "I am not a Russian spy."

Beholden to Putin

That any president, let alone a Republican, would utter such words is an example of how strange Washington is these days.

Yet a big problem for Mr Trump – and certainly something that is helping sustain those who believe the BuzzFeed report – is that time and time again the President gives his enemies plenty of reason to believe he may be beholden to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russians.

He has repeatedly denied that he was involved in any business dealings with Russia during the 2016 primary campaign.

Then, in late November, a former Trump business associate revealed that the Trump organisation considered giving Mr Putin a $US50 million penthouse in exchange for approvals to build his Moscow tower.


Mr Trump decided abruptly just days before Christmas and against the advice of his own military, to pull US forces out of Syria – creating a vacuum that will favour the Russians. He has also threatened to quit NATO, which would be another huge win for Moscow.

At last year's meeting in Helsinki, the President put Mr Putin's assurances that Russians didn't meddle in the 2016 campaign over the assessments of his own security services.

Cover up

The Washington Post added to the evidence with revelations that Mr Trump has taken extraordinary steps to cover up from his own White House aides his discussions with Mr Putin –including by seizing translator's notes.

Mr Trump's own business dealings with Russia provide plenty of circumstantial evidence that he could be subject to conflicts of interest. The New York Times has reported that in the 15 years through 2017 people from the former Soviet Union made 86 all-cash purchases of Trump properties, valued at $US109 million.

And what of all the Trump associates who helped the President's campaign. Names such as Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and Michael Flynn, all with links to Moscow?

One of the more staggering developments came last week, in a sensational interview with Mr Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani on CNN, where he implied that he "never said there was no collusion between the campaign. Or between people in the campaign."

And just last week, the White House pushed forward with a decision to lift sanctions against companies controlled by Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with ties to Manafort and Mr Putin.


Some 136 Republicans joined House Democrats on Thursday to overturn the sanctions relief – a move that ultimately failed because Senate Republicans blocked a similar measure the day before.

Growing scrutiny

​All of which means Mr Trump will remain under growing scrutiny and pressure, led by Congress.

Michael Hayden, CIA director from 2006 and 2009, and Neal Katyal, former acting US solicitor-general between 2010 and 2011, say the House should now begin the process of launching an impeachment investigation.

"We have been exceptionally reluctant to call for the impeachment of President Trump. Impeachment runs the risk of undoing an election and dividing the nation," they said.

"But there is a big difference between calling for impeachment and calling for an investigation into whether impeachment is appropriate.

"But if the facts show that Trump ordered or participated in the commission of crimes, in particular crimes that may have allowed him to win the election, we think it incontrovertible that impeachment would be warranted. "

Such calls will only become more prominent as the Mueller probe heads to its conclusion.


The lack of any guidance from the special counsel has left Washington in a giant parlour guessing game.

Explosive evidence

When will it drop and whether it's a blockbuster is still anyone's guess.

However, two broad lines of thought dominate most discussions about the outcome.

The first doubts Mr Mueller has the devastating evidence that shows Mr Trump has been compromised by Russia, and is essentially Putin's "asset".

If that were the case, why is Mr Mueller taking so long? Such evidence – tantamount to treason – would be so explosive it wouldn't be tenable for a law officer like Mr Mueller to delay action. Every minute he waits Mr Trump is in the White House, making decisions, being briefed on America's deepest official secrets.

The second line of thought is that Mr Mueller is being as thorough as he can, uncovering a wide range of evidence linked to Mr Trump that will ultimately be settled in the political domain, rather than courts.

"We've reached a point in the Mueller probe where there are only two scenarios left: Either the President is compromised by the Russian government and has been working covertly to co-operate with Vladimir Putin after Russia helped him win the 2016 election – or Trump will go down in history as the world's most famous 'useful idiot', as communists used to call those who could be co-opted to the cause without realising it," opined Wired last week.

There may also be a row over how much is ever provided to the public. Mr Trump's nominee for attorney-general, William Barr, told Senators last week at his confirmation hearings that he would release as much as possible, and that Mr Mueller would not be prevented from doing his job.