'Didn't have the guts': Trump shames Michael Cohen for shunning courtroom face-off

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'Didn't have the guts': Trump shames Michael Cohen for shunning courtroom face-off
(Photo of Trump by Gage Skidmore/Flickr Michael Cohen MSNBC screengrab)

Donald Trump is calling his former lawyer Michael Cohen a coward for failing to face him in court – a decision Cohen says was due to an injury that has left him in pain.

Trump was in court Tuesday despite being separately called for a deposition in the case of two fired FBI agents, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok. Cohen along with other former Trump Org employees, are witnesses in the New York fraud case that's expected to continue for a few more weeks.

The former president needled his ex-lawyer outside the courtroom, saying that he "didn't have the guts" to appear, ABC News reported. However, it doesn't mean that Cohen won't appear at all throughout the case – he told Raw Story that he still intends to give testimony.

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“Unfortunately, I need to attend to a pre-existing medical condition that impedes my ability to testify this upcoming week," Cohen said in a statement last week. "Rest assured, I will testify at the earliest opportunity.”

“I am thankful the medical condition, while incredibly painful, does not require an immediate procedure," said Cohen in an update to Raw Story Monday. "I anticipate appearing as soon as the pain subsides. When I do testify, I am certain Donald will be in attendance, sitting with his lawyers at the defendant’s table."

While Cohen hasn't given specifics, the implication is that he might be using pain medication. His testimony might then be called into question.

“If I was afraid of Donald, I wouldn’t have written two New York Times bestsellers, testified before the Mueller team, seven congressional committees, 23 appearances before the Manhattan DA, and provided information to the [New York attorney general] that is the basis of this trial. Looking forward to seeing you in court very soon!” he text messaged Raw Story Tuesday.

He also said he's feeling "lousy."

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Trump ally's 'hateful' race-based attack a bridge too far for even far-right MTG

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Sunday called out a Trump White House insider Sunday for being too racist — a word she struggled to spell.

Greene accused Laura Loomer of damaging the GOP with "nonstop vitriol" after the far-right influencer lobbed a racist attack against Black Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon.

“This hateful, racists [sic], and demeaning rhetoric should not be tolerated. Ever. But they allow it and keep her in the inner circle,” Greene wrote Sunday in a social media post on X.

Loomer called Nixon a “ghetto b----” who speaks in “Ebonics,” and therefore, may need to have her “leash” tugged and be barked at to understand English.

While Nixon shrugged off the attack and instructed Loomer to instead address her as “Representative Angie Nixon,” Greene hammered Loomer for what she characterized as Loomer’s destructive influence on the GOP and President Donald Trump.

“Loomer hurts Republican Senator Ashley Moody in her race with these vicious attacks. Just like Loomer has consistently hurt the Republican Party as she whispers nonstop insanity in the President’s ear. I 1000% denounce Laura Loomer and her nasty, hateful, racists [sic] comments. This is Trump’s new MAGA and Republican Party and I want nothing to do with it.”

Greene also took a jab at Loomer’s failed campaigns for public office and urged for her to be ousted from the GOP.

“Win on actual accomplishments for your voters and policy plans that will help Americans, NOT on the lies and hate propaganda from two time loser congressional candidate Laura Loomer. Voters proved twice that they reject her completely,” Greene continued.

“When will the President and the Republican Party reject her and her hateful racists [sic] behavior? They refuse to which tells you everything you need to know.”

A self-described “proud Islamophobe,” Loomer has a long history of making what critics have labeled as overtly racist and bigoted remarks, particularly against Muslims, having called them “savages.” Her racially charged remarks have also been extended to other ethnicities, including Indians, with Loomer once warning that the White House would “smell like curry” if former Vice President Kamala Harris – whose mother was Indian – won the 2024 presidential election.

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Trump admin may put 'small children' at risk of brain damage with disturbing move: report

The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a draft risk assessment recently that has public health advocates sounding the alarm, The Guardian reported on Sunday.

“The political people at the EPA changed the science to get the outcome they want,” said Maria Doa, the senior director of chemicals policy at the Environmental Defense Fund and former EPA scientist, speaking with The Guardian. “This isn’t the first time. They’ve been doing that pretty consistently under Trump.”

According to the assessment, EPA officials found that TBBPA — a highly toxic flame retardant used to reduce the flammability of plastics and other consumer products — was "unlikely to be used in fabrics and textiles.” Furthermore, the assessment included language that advocates described as an attempt to “downplay the risks” of the “highly toxic and profitable chemical.”

And yet, despite the EPA’s claims in its assessment — which “will be used to set regulations” for TBBPA — advocates say the agency came to its conclusions using data from industries poised to profit from loosened regulations around the toxic flame retardant.

In some cases, the EPA’s claims — notably that TBBPA is “unlikely” to be used in clothing and textiles — were outright false, argued the nonprofit organization Earthjustice.

“There’s a lot of underestimation of the risk, and they’re ignoring different exposure pathways… and we’re definitely seeing them cite industry sources,” said Lakendra Barajas, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, speaking with The Guardian.

The EPA itself also "contradicted" its own findings, with a separate assessment finding that "TBBPA is still widely used in textiles, including 96 types of children’s clothing," The Guardian noted.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has labeled TBBPA a probable carcinogen, and further studies have linked the chemical to “hormone disruption, brain damage, immune system toxicity and developmental harms in children, including to the reproductive and nervous systems,” The Guardian’s report reads. The chemical, The Guardian notes, is “especially” dangerous to “small children.”

“Small molecule TBBPA, as used in plastics and in consumer products, should be restricted,” said Arlene Blum, an environmental health scientist and author, speaking with The Guardian. “It can get into humans and contribute to cancer and behavioral harm. Infants and toddlers who crawl in the dust and put their hands in their mouths are especially vulnerable.”

'Too much for too long': U.S. Military turns on Pete Hegseth over mounting risk

The U.S. Military has turned on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the mounting war in Iran, according to a new report.

Several U.S. military leaders warned Hegseth this month that prolonging President Donald Trump's war with Iran would put the U.S. homeland at risk — essentially arguing the conflict is unsustainable, sources told the Washington Post.

"Overall, the tenor from the military leadership is that the ongoing Iran operation, having reached the six-month mark, has been 'too much for too long,'" an insider told the Post.

"Certain generals and admirals were more expansive and frank than is usual in telling Hegseth they disagreed with orders to keep providing equipment and personnel when the operation’s trajectory remains uncertain."

The Army, Navy and Air Force and the four-star commanders overseeing U.S. operations abroad delivered these warnings to Hegseth via the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, sources told the Post.

Of concern was Trump's efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which have necessitated military action remain a possibility, according to the report. That means U.S. Central Command, the headquarters responsible for prosecuting the war, must keep 50,000 troops on alert for months, the Post reported.

"The Aug. 14 orders book directs some troops deployed in the Middle East to remain there through September and some others into 2027," the report stated. "The prospect of extending those forces further compelled military leaders to voice their concern, these people said."

Meanwhile, U.S. operations in Europe, Asia and Latin America have had lost ships, aircraft and other equipment to the conflict, limiting their ability to conduct missions, the report stated.

The Navy, in particular, said it has had to stretch capacity to keep up with Trump's wartime demands, according to the Post.

The warnings reveal just what a precarious situation Trump has found himself in, the report concludes.

"The military’s warning to Hegseth...offers new insight into the administration’s dilemma as Trump seeks to end the conflict on terms favorable to the United States," the report states.

"Iran, cognizant of the war’s unpopularity with most Americans and its mounting toll on the U.S. arsenal, refuses to capitulate."

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