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US President Donald Trump has accused The New York Times of trying to get his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen to "flip" against him, as the US Government continues to investigate Mr Cohen's business dealings.
- The New York Times details allegations Mr Trump treated Mr Cohen poorly
- Mr Trump lashed out personally against one of the journalists in response
- He described the newspaper's sources as "non-existent"
Mr Trump lashed out at the newspaper and reporter Maggie Haberman on Twitter over an article published on Friday titled, "Michael Cohen has said he would take a bullet for Trump. Maybe not anymore", which detailed allegations that Mr Trump had treated Mr Cohen poorly for years.
In the tweets, Mr Trump accused The New York Times and Ms Haberman of "going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will 'flip'" — a term that can mean cooperating with authorities in exchange for leniency.
Mr Trump accused the newspaper of using "non-existent 'sources'" in the story despite several people quoted on the record in the article.
"Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble," even if "it means lying or making up stories," Mr Trump said.
"Sorry, I don't see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!"
Mr Trump also lashed out personally at Ms Haberman, calling her "third rate" and claiming he has "nothing to do with" her. Mr Trump later deleted and reposted the tweets correcting the spelling of Ms Haberman's name.
Ms Haberman, who co-authored the article along with two other journalists, is widely seen as one of the most diligent reporters covering the president and is known to speak with him often.
The New York Times responded on Twitter, saying it stood by the story and praised Ms Haberman, who was part of the team that had won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on Mr Trump.
The FBI raided Mr Cohen's home, office and hotel room earlier this month as part of a criminal investigation related to payments Mr Cohen made in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both Ms Daniels and Ms McDougal allege having had affairs with Mr Trump.
Prosecutors have said they are investigating Mr Cohen's personal business dealings but have not said what crime they believe he may have committed.
Mr Cohen's lawyers have called the raid an assault on attorney-client privilege and Mr Trump has said it was "an attack on our country."
Mr Trump was in Florida the morning the tweets were sent, missing a funeral held the same day for former first lady Barbara Bush in Houston.
First lady Melania Trump attended the service, while Mr Trump said he would watch from Florida.
The president also fired off several other tweets on Saturday attacking the media and fired FBI director James Comey.
He also announced he was considering offering a posthumous pardon to boxing's first black heavyweight champion more than 100 years after the late Jack Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury of accompanying a white woman across state lines.
AP/ABC
Topics: world-politics, donald-trump, united-states
First posted