News
Trump attacks Michael Cohen days before hush money trial is set to begin
Two days before the start of Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial, the former president attacked his former attorney Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a key witness in the case.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING? Only TRUMP people get prosecuted by this Judge and these thugs! A dark day for our Country.”
Cohen’s allegations that Trump directed him to facilitate hush money payments to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign are at the heart of the criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. It’s unclear what Trump was referring to, though Cohen admitted in court last year that he made false claims to Congress about Trump’s finances.
Asked on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Saturday about how he was feeling ahead of the trail, Cohen said he was “stressed, nervous.”
He added, “The attacks are relentless because that’s what he does. He attacks the judge, he attacks the judge’s daughter, he attacks witnesses, he attacks anyone and everyone again thinking that this is a positive strategy. It doesn’t work. So yeah, I’m concerned. And a little, you know, a little apprehensive.”
It’s unclear if the new posts from Trump violate a gag order that bars him from making extrajudicial statements about potential witnesses in the trial.
The gag order, first issued by state Judge Juan Merchan in March, prohibits Trump from “making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding.”
Merchan expanded the gag order to relatives of Merchan and Bragg after Trump attacked Merchan’s daughter in social media posts.
Trump is facing 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records in an alleged attempt “to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” according to prosecutors.
In a separate post on Saturday, Trump also attacked the district attorney’s office, saying, “WHY DIDN’T THE MANHATTAN D.A. BRING THIS RIDICULOUS & LAMBASTED CASE SEVEN YEARS AGO? Because they are corrupt and wanted to use it for purposes of Election Interference against Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent!”
Cohen did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment. Merchan’s and Bragg’s offices also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms
By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski
March 1, 2026
Gunfire rang out at a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday and at least three people were killed, the city’s police chief said.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters the shooter was killed by officers at the scene.
Fourteen others were hospitalized and three were in critical condition, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said.
“We received a call at 1:39 a.m. and within 57 seconds, the first paramedics and officers were on scene actively treating the patients,” Luckritz said.
There was no initial word on the shooter’s identity or motive.
Davis noted how fortunate it was that there was a heavy police presence in Austin’s entertainment district at the time, enabling officers to respond quickly as bars were closing.
“Officers immediately transitioned … and were faced with the individual with a gun,” Davis said. “Three of our officers returned fire, killing the suspect.”
She called the shooting a “tragic, tragic” incident.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said his heart goes out to the victims, and he praised the swift response of first responders.
“They definitely saved lives,” he said.
Davis said federal law enforcement is aiding the investigation.
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