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Hell hath no fury like a personal lawyer scorned.

Michael Cohen, long-time confidante and fixer to the US president, became an outcast when it emerged that he was under federal criminal investigation for possible bank and wire fraud as well as campaign-finance violations.

His case had been passed to the US attorney's office in the Southern District of New York by none other than special counsel Robert Mueller, the man tasked with investigating potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Cohen was reportedly disturbed at the speed with which the White House abandoned him in public and in private.

Now, under serious legal pressure, he appears to be rethinking his previously pledged undying loyalty to the president.

First it was reported that he was willing to cooperate with prosecutors.

Then it was reported he had made several secret recordings of interactions with the president, including a subsequently leaked tape of Cohen and Mr Trump discussing paying off a former Playboy model the president denied having an affair with.

Then came the bombshell - a report that Cohen is willing to say that Mr Trump knew in advance of that fateful summer 2016 meeting between members of the Trump campaign and Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton.

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This directly contradicts the president's repeated assertions to the contrary.

Michael Cohen is a man who enjoyed uniquely privileged access to the innermost workings of Trump-land for more than a decade.

If there are any skeletons in any closets, Cohen will have the keys.

So this is a real problem for the White House.

It's why Mr Trump's people are working overtime to discredit the fixer - labelling him dishonest and disingenuous.

They know the amount of damage Cohen can do will hinge on whether or not Mr Mueller finds him credible enough to include his claims in any case he might make, which in turn hinges on what can be proved.

IF Mr Mueller finds Cohen credible, that Trump Tower meeting could become central to an argument that Mr Trump and his team not only colluded with Russia to swing the election in his favour, but attempted to obscure, or obstruct attempts to find out the truth subsequently.

Given all of this, the president's Twitter rage, if not dignified, is understandable.