Morning Update: President Trump Directed His Attorney To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project

Trump directed his attorney to lie to Congress, weekend longreads, and new Ariana Grande. Your BuzzFeed News newsletter, Jan. 18.

President Trump directed his attorney to lie to Congress about the Moscow tower project

Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.

Trump also supported a plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and jump-start the tower negotiations. “Make it happen,” the sources said Trump told Cohen.

And even as Trump told the public he had no business deals with Russia, the sources said Trump and his children Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. received regular, detailed updates about the real estate development from Cohen, whom they put in charge of the project.

Following the publication of this story, lawmakers have vowed to investigate.

👉Learn more about Trump Tower Moscow with the definitive story of how Trump’s team worked the Russian deal during the campaign.

👉Previously, we reported that the Trump Organization had planned to give Vladimir Putin the $50 million penthouse in Trump Tower Moscow.

👉If you believe in this kind of journalism, support our reporting by becoming a BuzzFeed News member today.

The Brooklyn woman who said two cops raped her was accused of lying under oath

The case of two former New York Police Department officers charged with raping a teenage girl was thrown into limbo on Thursday after the district attorney filed a motion asking a special prosecutor to take over the closely watched proceedings.

The development stemmed from weeks of legal sparring among defense attorneys, the district attorney’s office, and the alleged victim, Anna Chambers. Both sides have now accused Chambers of lying under oath.

SNAPSHOTS

The day after Nancy Pelosi asked Trump to delay his State of the Union address, he canceled her overseas trip. Pelosi had been scheduled to go on a congressional delegation trip, and because members of Congress would travel via military aircraft, Trump, as commander in chief, has the power to nix their transportation. So he did, via a letter that cited the partial government shutdown and said “it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me.”

A mom won a 268-mile ultramarathon race while pumping breast milk for her baby. Jasmin Paris crushed the course record by 12 hours despite stopping at checkpoints during the race to pump milk for her 14-month old daughter.

Cardi B denounced the shutdown in a video, creating a hilarious debate among senators and also a new bop. A few Democratic senators liked her message but were conflicted about sharing it due to her colorful language. Then her viral video got the remix it deserved.

Three Chicago cops were acquitted of covering up for the officer who killed Laquan McDonald. Jason Van Dyke was convicted in October of second-degree murder and aggravated battery for killing the 17-year-old and is scheduled to be sentenced today. Prosecutors had claimed reports filed by the three cops contained falsified evidence in a conspiracy to cover up for Van Dyke.

Ariana Grande has released a new song, “7 Rings.” The song’s music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis and set in a pink party house, notably features the six friends she got rings with during a shopping spree she had shortly after her breakup with Pete Davidson.

Slow it down this weekend with these great longreads

What The Hell Happened To Lindsey Graham? The senator's unpredictability and his about-face in regard to Trump have led people to ask: What happened to him? Paul McLeod asked Graham’s colleagues — and the man himself — to find out.

9 Wintertime Shows To Be Excited About, 11 To Give A Chance, And 7 To Avoid. Midseason! So many new shows, so much time as we check the weather and go “nope, not going out in that, let's see what's on TV.” Kate Aurthur has rounded up the best, the worst, and the give-it-a-shot for this season’s crop of midseason debuts.

Instagram Influencers Are Being Targeted In An Elaborate Scam By Someone Pretending To Be Wendi Deng Murdoch. Multiple people — a majority of them freelance photographers with significant Instagram and social media followings — are alleging they were pulled into the intricate scam. Tanya Chen spoke to victims and an investigative firm that thinks this impostor has been puppeteering elaborate schemes for years; Instagram influencers are just their latest target.

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