Pulitzer-winning reporter reveals 'the one line' in Cohen memo that tells us 'how the special counsel's office sees the world'

On Friday, a flood of legal documents were filed with courts in the sprawling investigations into President Donald Trump's ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign.

The documents have been parsed and re-parsed by reporters and analysts all evening.

On Twitter, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt laid out the one line in the Cohen sentencing memo that he believes tells the story of how special counsel Robert Mueller sees the investigation.

"Prior to testifying, the defendant made a public appearance at the U.S. Capitol and released his prepared opening statement, which falsely claimed that the Moscow Project “was terminated in January of 2016[,] which occurred before the Iowa caucus and months before the very first primary,” the line read.

The filing goes on to explain why this is important: "By publicly presenting this false narrative, the defendant deliberately shifted the timeline of what had occurred in the hopes of limiting the investigations into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election—an issue of heightened national interest."

Read the complete filing here.