The interview that Michael Cohen gave ABC News on Friday morning should show Donald Trump one thing; that until he surrenders to begin a three-year prison sentence next March, he is unlikely to go away.

Cohen said that he was “done being loyal” to the president having been sentenced over a number of charges, including campaign finance violations for arranging payments during the 2016 election to silence women who have claimed to have affairs with Trump.

“I’m done with the lying,” the president’s former lawyer said. “I’m done being loyal to President Trump. My first loyalty belongs to my wife, my daughter, my son and this country.”

Cohen has implicated Trump in his criminal conduct, although the president has said he has done nothing illegal and the payments are a civil matter at worst.

Asked why he should be believed, Cohen said: “Because the special counsel stated emphatically that the information that I gave to them is credible and helpful. There’s a substantial amount of information that they possess that corroborates the fact that I am telling the truth.”

Up until now, as Mr Trump’s former associates – including former campaign manager Paul Manafort – have faced convictions or agreed plea deals with special counsel Robert Mueller, the president has sought to distance himself and move past the news as quickly as he can.

While his anger at the Mueller-Russia probe has run into hundreds of tweets, individuals such as Cohen, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Manafort appear relatively rarely.

Trump’s White House did the same on Friday, as it sought to play down another reported federal investigation, this one into spending for the president’s inauguration in 2016 and whether some of the inaugural committee’s donors made contributions in exchange for political favours and access to the Trump administration. Any such behaviour, according to The Wall Street Journal, which broke the report of the investigation, would be a potential violation of federal corruption laws.

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is “still considering” whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? 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He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege.” Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US. 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Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor– with a net worth of around $50bn – has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in “the next month or so” whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is “ready to do this” and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a “50 per cent” chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesn’t think he will run for president, but “never say never”. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

When asked if there were any “improprieties” with the inauguration funding, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said: “The president of the United States has one job at the inauguration. It’s to show up … This charge has nothing to do with the president of the United States, and it has nothing to do with this administration.” The inaugural committee said it was unaware of any investigations.

However, if Cohen is pledging to be a thorn in the side of the president, the mounting investigations become difficult to ignore.

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Mueller’s probe into election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign appears to be gathering pace, with Flynn another one to be criticised by the special counsel’s office on Friday.

Mueller’s team was responding to the suggestion from Flynn’s lawyers that he had lied to federal investigators – a crime he is due to be sentenced for next week – as he had not been made aware that it is a crime.

As the various elements of the probe such as hearings and sentencing begin to come thick and fast, the Trump White House cannot deal with them individually. The news cycles overlap and any strategy to compartmentalise them becomes less tenable.