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

'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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A psychiatrist made a frightening prediction on Wednesday about the rest of President Donald Trump's second term during a new podcast interview.

Dr. John Gartner, a psychiatrist and former professor at Johns Hopkins University, told Hugh Dougherty on a new episode of "The Daily Beast Podcast" that Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-KY) primary defeat on Tuesday may have emboldened Trump to do something that was once considered unthinkable. Trump may make the call to launch a nuclear strike in Iran or elsewhere, and there may not be anyone left around him who can stop it, he said.

"I know sometimes people accuse me of laughing. I'll try to laugh a little less for this strip, because I really believe that we are going to wake up one morning and he will have launched a first nuclear strike," Gartner said. "I believe that this is going to happen because he wants to do it."

Gartner has frequently said Trump exhibits signs of someone suffering from frontotemporal dementia, a condition that significantly impacts someone's decision-making abilities. While Gartner has not examined the president, he said he feels confident about his diagnosis because of how seemingly disinhibited Trump has become.

"He no longer has the frontal lobe to give him the restraint, inhibition, and judgment that would cause him to inhibit himself," Gartner said. "And he now has a yes-man cabinet of true believers and psychopaths who are not going to be a backstop. We don't have General Mattis, we don't have John Kelly, we don't have Rex Tillerson. There are no more adults in the room."

"And in fact, we just had a primary last night. Massie has been thrown out. There were literally no men or women in elected political office as a Republican who isn't blindly lockstep following him," Gartner continued. "So I think people need to really get their minds around this. This is going to happen."

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President Donald Trump's Department of Justice just signaled its broader plan after unveiling its latest indictment, according to one expert.

Melba Pearson, a former prosecutor in South Florida, said during a new episode of the Legal AF podcast that the indictment against Raúl Castro is unlikely to result in Castro's extradition, much less a trial. Even so, it revealed that the Trump administration seems to be chasing a bigger goal because of how the indictment plays politically.

The Trump DOJ indicted Castro on Wednesday for a 1996 airplane shootdown that killed four men, three of them American citizens. Trump accompanied the indictment by claiming that the U.S. would soon impose an embargo on the country, which is already suffering economically.

While the U.S. has indicted several leaders in the past, Pearson noted one key difference in Castro's indictment. Cuba does not have an extradition agreement with the U.S., which means it is unlikely Castro will ever be arrested like Saddam Hussein or Nicolás Maduro.

However, an indictment prevents Castro from leaving the country and using his assets, Pearson said. That points to the larger aims of the Trump administration.

"Castro's indictment is kind of following that same path, which then leads me to believe what the bigger plan is, which is something that has been stated quite plainly, a takeover of Cuba," Pearson said.

The Trump administration has been threatening to invade Cuba for months. Reports indicate Cubans are preparing for a U.S. invasion, and the Cuban government has been reportedly buying up drones in preparation for a conflict.

Pearson noted that the indictment of Castro may be a way for Trump to play to Cuban voters ahead of the midterms.

"They came out in strength in support of this president, and they're one of the most politically active voting blocs in the state of Florida," Pearson noted. "So this indictment is again looking at the timing ... this is a nod to the Cuban community."


As Republicans are pushing back against Trump's attempt to control his dissent in his party, the White House is telling them to stop fighting and accept it.

Politico reported that a senior White House official essentially said Republicans needed to accept Trump's dominance over the GOP and "submit."

"The quicker they understand that President Trump is the ultimate force in politics, the quicker they'll realize it's a futile exercise to go against him," the official told Politico.

GOP lawmakers have been speaking out against Trump backing primary opponents to Republican lawmakers who have stood up to him. However, Trump's endorsement has successfully led to the ousting of his GOP rivals in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Indiana.

Republicans have continued to speak out against their president. Trump threatened to go after Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) for voting against him, and because his fiancée asks tough questions. Rep. Don Bacon, who plans to retire, described it as "dumb."

However, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales touted Trump as the "unequivocal leader, best messenger and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party," according to Politico. "Voters overwhelmingly continue to reward candidates who stand with the president and his winning movement."

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise seemed to echo the need to toe Trump's line in a veiled message that refers to GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy's loss in Louisiana.

"Just like in Louisiana Saturday, it just goes to show that the voters have the ultimate say on whether we stay or come back," he said, according to Politico. "If you break the trust with your voters, they're going to send you home."

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