5:12 PM EST 03/16/19
Trump attacks John McCain over Obamacare repeal
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/434404-trump-attacks-john-mccain-over-obamacare-repeal
8:22PM EST 03/16/19
Trump attacks late Sen. John McCain over role in spreading Russia dossier
https://nypost.com/2019/03/16/trump-attacks-late-sen-john-mccain-over-role-in-spreading-russia-dossier/
Trump attacks John McCain over Obamacare repeal
President Trump took aim at late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Twitter on Saturday for his vote against the GOP Senate majority during the Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare in 2017.
McCain, who died last year, was the third Republican to vote against the bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, former President Obama's signature legislative accomplishment, in 2017.
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The tweet appeared to refer to the unverified dossier of Trump's ties to Russia, authored by a former British intelligence agent and reportedly provided to BuzzFeed by McCain's office.
"Spreading the fake and totally discredited Dossier 'is unfortunately a very dark stain against John McCain,'" Trump said, apparently quoting former independent counsel Ken Starr, who headed the congressional investigation into the Clinton administration.
"He had far worse 'stains' than this, including thumbs down on repeal and replace after years of campaigning to repeal and replace!" the president continued.
Spreading the fake and totally discredited Dossier “is unfortunately a very dark stain against John McCain.” Ken Starr, Former Independent Counsel. He had far worse “stains” than this, including thumbs down on repeal and replace after years of campaigning to repeal and replace!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2019
The tweet is Trump's second shot at McCain in recent months. He reportedly told a group of news anchors during an off-the-record meeting in February that the late Arizona Republican's book in which McCain was critical of Trump "bombed."
McCain was a frequent critic of Trump and rescinded his endorsement during the 2016 general election following lewd comments Trump made on an "Access Hollywood" video that resurfaced late in the campaign.
Trump attacks late Sen. John McCain over role in spreading Russia dossier
President Trump attacked the late Sen. John McCain Saturday over recently revealed evidence that the Arizona lawmaker helped push Russia-collusion rumors in the weeks after Trump’s election.
“Spreading the fake and totally discredited Dossier ‘is unfortunately a very dark stain against John McCain,’” Trump tweeted, quoting former independent counsel Ken Starr.
Trump continued that McCain “had far worse ‘stains’ than this, including thumbs down on repeal and replace [Obamacare] after years of campaigning to repeal and replace!”
David Kramer, a former State Department official and close McCain associate, testified in a 2017 deposition that McCain sent him to London in 2016 to obtain a copy of the dossier that British ex-spy Christopher Steele had produced as opposition research for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
The dossier contained damning – and still unproven – allegations that Trump or his aides had colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
Kramer testified that he then gave the dossier to McCain, several Obama Administration officials, and multiple media outlets – including Buzzfeed, which published it weeks later.
His testimony was unsealed Thursday and reported in the Daily Caller.
McCain and Trump were frequent antagonists during the 2016 election and after Trump won the White House. Their antipathy ran so deep that McCain, who died of brain cancer in August, refused to allow the president to attend his funeral.