Trump slams NBC News for falsely reporting that Michael Cohen was wiretapped

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 4 May 2018

President Trump made sure not to miss an opportunity to use his favorite phrase: "fake news."

Trump slammed NBC News in a Friday tweet that referenced a correction that the network issued regarding a report that attorney Michael Cohen was wiretapped.

"NBC NEWS is wrong again!" he tweeted. On Thursday, NBC News walked back a story that had originally cited anonymous sources who said Cohen's phones were being recorded by prosecutors. In issuing a correction, NBC News reporter Julia Ainsley clarified that Cohen's calls were being monitored but not listened to. Prosecutors are reportedly keeping track of Cohen's phone calls, making note of who he communicates with, but they aren't recording the content of his conversations. The correction explained that two sources had told NBC News of the wiretap, then three other anonymous officials had stepped forward to say investigators were merely logging calls.

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Trump, who frequently attacks media outlets for reporting what he believes to be false or misleading stories, made sure to pile onto the criticism of NBC News. "They cite 'sources' which are constantly wrong," he wrote. "Problem is, like so many others, the sources probably don't exist, they are fabricated, fiction!" He went on to say that NBC News was "as bad as Fake News CNN," one of his other frequent targets.

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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.

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