Trump news: President says US forces killed terrorists behind Paris attacks, after launching latest insults at John McCain

Updates from Washington as they happened on Wednesday

Donald Trump escalates criticism of US war hero: 'I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be'

Donald Trump has resumed his attack on George Conway, the husband of White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway, after the latter questioned the president’s mental health.

In response, Mr Trump called the lawyer “a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!”

Mr Trump has also been accused of “punching at a person that can’t fight back because he’s dead” over his feud with recently deceased Vietnam War hero and Republican senator John McCain.

“I was never a fan of John McCain and I never will be,” Mr Trump said yesterday during a press conference at the White House with Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, prompting the comment from CNN anchor Anderson Cooper on the disrespect being shown to a long-serving American public servant who passed away of brain cancer last August, aged 81.

The ongoing attacks on the late senator has led many to express support for the famed Arizonan, even as the president has continued to double down on his criticism of the war hero.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Trump took a trip to Lima, Ohio, where he visited a tank manufacturing plant and expressed admiration for the "patriotism" he said was on full display in the company.

Before boarding his plane to leave Washington, Mr Trump told reporters that he expects special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election to be released publicly.

Mr Mueller's report is expected any day now, with many reports indicating the investigation is winding down or already finished up.

The report would first be sent to the Justice Department, at which point Attorney General William Barr would determine what form of a report he would pass along to Congress for further review.

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Key Points

• Trump resumes attack on 'stone cold LOSER' husband of adviser Kellyanne Conway
• Criticised over repeated attacks on late senator and war hero John McCain
• Defends electoral college against Democratic calls for reform
• Due to visit Ohio days after attacking GM autoworkers' union

[20 March 2019 13:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Speaking of Fox, disgraced anchor Bill O'Reilly is reportedly planning a "no spin" book on the Trump administration entitled The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America, while former Republican House speaker Paul Ryan has joined the corporation's board of directors.

So that's all right then. Accusations that the White House and Fox are too close for comfort can be safely put to bed.

[20 March 2019 13:02 · Joe Sommerlad]

Here's George Conway's latest: a still of Humphrey Bogart in the classic courtroom drama The Caine Mutiny (1954), about a neurotic naval captain who is overthrown by his crew.

A brilliant reference to be fair.

George has even changed his Twitter header to another scene from the film, hammering home the point. Can't beat his taste in cinema, whatever else you might say about him.

[20 March 2019 13:15 · Joe Sommerlad]

Here's Luke Savage for Indy Voices with a warning about the prospect of a Joe Biden tilt at the White House in 2020.

[20 March 2019 13:30 · Joe Sommerlad]

A reminder of where we're at with the Mueller investigation from Chris Riotta.

Yesterday we learned the FBI special counsel took an interest in Mr Trump's long-time lawyer turned "rat" Michael Cohen much earlier than was previously thought.

[20 March 2019 13:45 · Joe Sommerlad]

This is interesting 

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Representative Elijah Cummings, says the White House is perpetrating "an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction" in response to congressional requests for documents and witnesses. 

The Maryland Democrat writes in a Washington Post op-ed that he has sent 12 letters to the White House on a range of topics, "some routine and some relating to our core national security interests," since Democrats took control of the House in January. 

Mr Cummings says the topics include White House security clearances, President Donald Trump's alleged "hush money" payments and the use of taxpayer funds for lavish private aircraft. 

In response, he says, the Trump administration "has not turned over a single piece of paper to our committee or made a single official available for testimony." 

[20 March 2019 14:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has also been sticking it to the Trump administration, suggesting the president appears to have influenced his former acting attorney-general Matthew Whitaker into raising doubts about the campaign finance case against Michael Cohen.

Mr Nadler said Mr Whitaker described interactions with Justice Department staff about the case against the former Trump lawyer, which involved hush money payments to women who claimed to have affairs with Trump, during a closed-door meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on 13 March.

In a letter on Tuesday to assistant attorney-general Steven Engel, Mr Nadler said Mr Whitaker expressed concerns to staff that campaign finance charges against Cohen may have been "specious" and raised "serious questions" about the theory of the case overseen by federal prosecutors in New York.

[20 March 2019 14:15 · Sarah Harvard]

Former GOP Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld criticised Donald Trump over Twitter on Tuesday, calling the president a "national embarrassment."

Mr Weld's tweets were in response to the president's recent scathing remarks regarding the late Sen. John McCain.

"I was never a fan of John McCain, and I never will be,” Mr Trump said Monday in the Oval Office when asked about his attacks Mr McCain seven months after his death.

[20 March 2019 14:30 · Sarah Harvard]

House Majority Whip James Clyburn called the Trump family "the greatest threats to democracy of my lifetime" while appearing on NBC News on Tuesday.

“We are asking for dire consequences," said in response to the president's attack on the late Senator John McCain. "And I think it’s time for the Congress — House and Senate — to grow spines, and do what is necessary to protect this democracy. This man and his family are the greatest threats to democracy of my lifetime."

[20 March 2019 14:45 · Sarah Harvard]

Meghan McCain tweeted in response to President Trump's attack on her father.

"Illegitimi non carborundum" is a Latin phrase commonly translated to "don't let the bastards grind you down.”

[20 March 2019 15:00 · Sarah Harvard]

George Conway tweeted another slight jab at Donald Trump, insinuating the president suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.