Donald Trump lashed out on Saturday at the New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman, after she contributed to a story that suggested his longtime lawyer and fixer might cooperate with federal investigators.

“The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Habberman [sic] known as a Crooked H[illary Clinton] flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will ‘flip,’” Trump wrote.

In a subsequent tweet, the president corrected his spelling.

Haberman responded on Twitter, writing: “When I was reporting this story, I said to one person who’s observed the Cohen-Trump relationship that Trump has been abusive to him. The person replied, ‘He’s abusive to everybody.’”

Last week, federal agents seized business records, emails and other documents during raids of Cohen’s office, hotel room and home. The material retrieved reportedly included documents related to a payment Cohen made in 2016 to silence a pornographic film actor, Stormy Daniels, from going public about an alleged affair with Trump. A payment made to a Playboy model who also claims to have had an affair with Trump, Karen McDougal, was also at issue.

Trump denies the affairs and has called the raids a “witch hunt” perpetrated by his own justice department. The Cohen raid was reportedly the result of a referral to New York authorities by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian election interference and alleged collusion between Trump aides and Moscow. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction of justice.

Haberman, who has been called the “Trump whisperer” for her deeply sourced reporting on the president, was part of a team that this week won a Pulitzer prize for national reporting.

The Pulitzer was awarded jointly with the Washington Post for “deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the president-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration”.

In the Cohen story – which was published on the front page of the Times under the headline “Punching Bag For President Now Has Clout” – Haberman, Sharon LaFraniere and Danny Hakim report that the attorney, who is known for his unflinchingly loyalty to Trump, could face devastating legal fees if not criminal charges, a reality that may sway him to work with federal agents.

The article quotes Sam Nunberg, a former aide to Trump who worked with Cohen, and most recently went on a bizarre media blitz in which he insisted he would defy subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller. Days later Nunberg reversed course and appeared for his scheduled grand jury appearance.

“Ironically, Michael now holds the leverage over Trump,” Nunberg told the Times, adding that Trump had long taken Cohen “for granted”.

“Whenever anyone complains to me about Trump screwing them over, my reflexive response is that person has nothing to complain about compared to Michael,” Nunberg said.

Trump appeared to refer to Nunberg in his second tweet of the morning: “They use non-existent ‘sources’ and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected.

“Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!”

Cohen told Vanity Fair in September he would “take a bullet” for his boss. He apparently attempted to apologize to Melania Trump about the pain he caused by making the $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose birth name is Stephanie Clifford.

The president spent Saturday morning at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while his wife flew to Houston to attend the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush. Photographers captured Trump looking at his phone.