it was a total phony story. and i appreciate the special counsel coming out with a statement last night. i think also that the coverage by the mainstream media was disgraceful. and i think it's going to take a long time for the mainstream media to recover its credibility. >> that was part of the president's response to the buzzfeed report earlier today. joining me laura bassett from the huffing post and john harwood. john, before getting your reaction to what the president was saying there, i want to play what white house aides had to say. here it is. >> you are saying the president did not tell michael cohen to do that. >> right now, this is exactly why the president refuses to give any credence or creditability to news outlegs because they have no ability to corroborate anything they're putting out there. they're using innuendo and shady sources. >> that was not a denial of my