DONALD Trump has been warned the “countdown” to impeachment has begun after his ex-lawyer implicated him in crimes committed during the 2016 election.

It came after the maverick leader last night warned the market would “crash” if his presidency ever came under threat.

Mr Trump’s comments came after Michael Cohen, his long-time legal “fixer”, pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges.

This included two counts of campaign finance violations, which he alleged he committed at the direction of Trump.

Cohen also admitted paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, both alleged to have had affairs with Mr Trump.

But Al Green, a Democratic congressman, who has previously filed articles of impeachment against Mr Trump, suggested he might file others after Cohen’s guilty plea.

Abc news reported that Mr Green said: "I think the president has to realise that the countdown to impeachment has already started.

"He, at some point, will have to choose if he will face impeachment or if he will resign. It will be his choice.

“The congress will have no choice but to act.”

Mr Trump has publicly addressed the prospect of impeachment, claiming the market would “crash”if his presidency was threatened.

He told Fox News: “I don't know how you can impeach somebody who has done a great job.

“I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash.

"I think everybody would be very poor because, without this thinking, you would see – you would see numbers that you wouldn't believe, in reverse.”

Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said "the American people would revolt" if the president was impeached.

Rudy Giuliani defended him days after Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to paying two women hush money over their alleged affairs with Trump on his own orders.

Speaking during a golf trip in Scotland, Giuliani said: "He [Trump] didn't collude with the Russians, he didn't obstruct justice, everything Cohen says has been disproved.

"You could only impeach him for political reasons and the American people would revolt against that."

Some believe Cohen's conviction on eight charges including campaign finance violations on Wednesday could implicate Trump in wrongdoing.

On Tuesday, he admitted to paying porn star Stormy Daniels £130,000 just days before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.

Cohen also recorded a meeting in which he and Trump discussed buying the rights to a kiss-and-tell interview with former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Even though Trump could be heard in the tapes, Giuliani claimed they showed that "Cohen did it on his own" and did not tell the president.

The former new York mayor told Sky News: "It demonstrates Cohen's a liar and the US attorney in the southern district of New York called him a liar.

"The reality is that the president has completely been vindicated by the whole Cohen incident."

Giuliani was wearing a Trump Scotland cap and appeared to be speaking from his International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire.

The Democrats are expected to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump if they do better than the Republicans at November's mid-term elections.

But Trump told Fox News on Wednesday that global markets would collapse if he was stripped of the presidency.

When asked if he believes they will launch impeachment proceedings, he told Fox & Friends: "If I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash.

"I think everybody would be very poor... I don't know how you could impeach someone who's done a great job."

Trump said Americans would see economic "numbers that you wouldn't believe in reverse", adding: "I got rid of regulations, the tax cut was a tremendous thing."

He also suggested it should be illegal for people facing prosecution to cooperate with the government in exchange for a reduced sentence.

The former reality TV star accused Cohen, who once said he would "take a bullet for Trump", of implicating him to get a better deal with prosecutors.

Trump also claimed anyone who decides to cooperate with the government "makes up stories" and "just makes up lies.

He added: "It's called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal."

His administration has struggled to manage the fallout from Cohen's plea deal and the conviction of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on financial charges.

Both cases resulted, at least in part, from the work of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia's attempts to sway voters in the 2016 election.

Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, said Wednesday that Cohen has information "that would be of interest" to the special counsel.

"There are subjects that Michael Cohen could address that would be of interest to the special counsel," Davis said in a series of television interviews.