WHEN YOU'RE THE CHUM DURING SHARK WEEK:

If you're wondering why President Trump's mad-dog frenzy in the last 48 hours has surpassed even his typically manic tone, look no further than Michael Cohen's mounting legal troubles. Two new fronts were opened this week, pushing Cohen closer to the edge of a painful, existential choice: cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, or an extended, unpleasant stay in federal prison. Trump can sense his friend edging closer to capitulation and his own legal peril mounting as Cohen begins to crack. As usual, he's having a very public, very loud meltdown.

First came the news that Gene Freidman, Cohen's associate in his taxi-medallion enterprise, has flipped. You'll be shocked (and by 'shocked' I mean, 'entirely unsurprised') to learn that Soviet émigré "Gene" Freidman, formerly "Evgeny" is tied to - wait for it - shady Russian and Ukrainian interests. For those of you in more civilised climes, New York's taxi business isn't the most genteel and ethical business niche; it's notoriously mobbed-up. Cohen comes from the same Russian wiseguy-inflected, criminal enterprise-adjacent circles as Freidman. Freidman has now pledged to assist Federal officials in their investigation of Cohen, and by extension, Trump.

The second source of new psychological and legal pressure on Trump and Cohen came from the BBC's Paul Wood. In an impeccably-sourced piece, Wood revealed yesterday that Cohen has engaged in illegal lobbying on behalf of Ukraine, serving in both of his usual roles as fixer for and conduit to Donald Trump.

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