From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconfuse the issue/matter/argument etcconfuse the issue/matter/argument etcCLEAR/EASY TO UNDERSTANDto make it even more difficult to think clearly about a situation or problem or to deal with it He kept asking unnecessary questions which only confused the issue. → confuse
Examples from the Corpus
confuse the issue/matter/argument etc• His reply was inpart denial of the criticisms, and inpart an attempt to change the issue or confuse the matter.• Making comparisons between brains is a very risky business because there are confounding variables to confuse the issue.• Perceptions, such as hers, distort the truth and confuse the issue.• The politicians, on the lookout for arguments to extend their authoritarianism, jumped at this opportunity to confuse the issue.• This will only serve to confuse the issue.• The Catholic arguments confuse the issue, but this time, for all the wrong reasons, the Pope is infallible.• This attempt to confuse the issue went unanswered, and Santa Anna continued his preparations to advance on the capital. 