Trump news: White House reveals new rules to keep impoverished immigrants out of US, as Epstein autopsy results expected amid deluge of conspiracy theories

Beto O'Rourke says Donald Trump retweeting Jeffrey Epstein conspiracies to distract from terrorist attack in El Paso

Donald Trump - currently on holiday at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey - has again stoked controversy by retweeting unfounded conspiracy theories about the apparent suicide of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in a New York jail cell on Saturday.

Democratic 2020 contenders Beto O'Rourke and Cory Booker have led the condemnation of the president, accusing him of seeking to divert attention from the bad press he suffered in the aftermath of the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings by giving oxygen to unfounded rumours linking Epstein, a former friend of Mr Trump himself, to his precursor in the White House, Bill Clinton.

The White House has meanwhile introduced tough new immigration measures that could deny visas and permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of people for being too poor.

The White House administration announced it was moving forward with one of its most aggressive steps yet to restrict legal immigration, denying green cards to many migrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance.

Federal law already requires those seeking to become permanent residents and gain legal status to prove they will not be a burden to the US — a “public charge,” in government speak — but the new rules detail a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.

It’s part of a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s immigration system that the administration has been trying to put into place.

While much of the attention has focused on Mr Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, the new change targets people who entered the United States legally and are seeking permanent status.

It's also part of an effort to move the US to a system that focuses on immigrants’ skills instead of emphasizing the reunification of families.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services will now weigh public assistance along with other factors such as education, household income and health to determine whether to grant legal status.

The rules will take effect in mid-October. They don’t apply to US citizens, even if the US citizen is related to an immigrant who is subject to them.

The acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ken Cuccinelli, said the rule change fits with the Republican president’s message.

“We want to see people coming to this country who are self-sufficient,” Mr Cuccinelli said. “That’s a core principle of the American dream. It’s deeply embedded in our history, and particularly our history related to legal immigration.”

Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load

Key Points

• White House reveals new immigration law targeting poor
• Trump condemned over Epstein conspiracy theory tweets
• Ex-press sec Scaramucci warns Trump will turn against 'entire country'
• Republican challenger Bill Weld calls on party to reject racism
• Trump 'used Asian accent' to mock South Korean, Japanese leaders

[12 August 2019 12:35 · Joe Sommerlad]

Here's more on the mess Epstein leaves behind him. A trail of ruined lives, misery and bankruptcy.

[12 August 2019 12:50 · Joe Sommerlad]

Chris Riotta has this on the spiraling cost of Trump's golf holidays to American taxpayers.

[12 August 2019 13:05 · Joe Sommerlad]

This is odd.

Trump - who loves to print out his tweets and sign them - reportedly tore out a magazine picture of Justin Trudeau from Bloomberg Businessweek, scrawled a brief note about the Canadian prime minister “looking good” on it and had the White House mail the dispatch to the neighbouring country’s embassy. 

The message - first reported by Axios - was allegedly written by the US president on the cover of a May 2017 issue of the magazine, which featured an image of Trudeau alongside a caption reading “The Anti-Trump”. On it, Trump allegedly jotted a Sharpie-written note reading something to the effect of, “Looking good! Hope it's not true!" according to the US news outlet.

The Canadian ambassador considered the note so strange he thought it was a prank but, after calling US officials, was told the note was genuine. 

[12 August 2019 13:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

With the Epstein investigation set to run and run, attention is turning to socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Maxwell has been described as his "protector" who "supplied him with three girls a day".

[12 August 2019 13:35 · Joe Sommerlad]

The Mooch continues to bite back against his old handler.

[12 August 2019 13:50 · Joe Sommerlad]

Clark Mindock has more on the Democrats in Iowa, where Bernie Sanders proved a much bigger draw than Bill de Blasio.

Speaking at The Des Moines Registers's "Political Soapbox" event, Bernie recalled his narrow defeat in the Midwestern state in 2016 and pledged to fight Trump's racism while pushing for progressive causes in 2020.

[12 August 2019 14:05 · Joe Sommerlad]

Check out these numbers: 12.95 false claims a day.

Well, he does love high ratings.

[12 August 2019 14:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Joe Biden reminds me us today is the two-year anniversary of Charlottesville.

[12 August 2019 14:40 · Joe Sommerlad]

Hard to argue with this.

[12 August 2019 15:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

More from Clark Mindock in Iowa, where Bernie Sanders has been holding the Republicans to account over their "hypocrisy" on abortion.

"Right now, all across the country, there is a well-funded and extreme attack on the right of women to control their own body and their own future," the candidate says.