Trump attacks FBI, Canada, media as McCain motorcade passes White House

As the solemn motorcade carrying the body of Sen. John McCain made its way past the Washington monument Saturday morning, within eyesight of the White House, President Donald Trump was busily churning out a series of tweets attacking the FBI, Department of Justice, the news media and Canada.

Trump made no reference to the senator's passing, even as the luminaries of Washington —including three former presidents — began gathering at the National Cathedral for a memorial service.

Trump, who McCain pointedly declined to invite to the service, began the morning tweetstorm at 7:19 a.m., with a slap at the state of the news media just as Fox, CNN and MSNBC were beginning to roll out their wall-to-wall coverage of the day's events.

Two minutes later, the president took a swipe at Canada, which declined to sign a trade agreement on Friday, saying, "I love Canada, but they've taken advantage of our Country for man years."

After an hour's pause, at 8:26, one minute after MSNBC began its live coverage of the McCain family gathering at the steps of the Senate, Trump cranked out his third tweet of the morning. It was so long, it turned into a five-parter, long enough for McCain's motorcade to make a brief stop at the Vietnam Memorial and all the way to the Cathedral.

The topic, on McCain's final day in Washington, D.C., involved the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He quoted from a Friday night appearance on Fox's Hannity program by Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a conservative activist group. Fitton was discussing a Judicial Watch response to a court-filing by the Justice Department regarding wiretap warrants on Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign.

I love Canada, but they’ve taken advantage of our Country for many years! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2018

At 8:32 am., as the casket carrying McCain's body was being carried from the Senate Rotunda to a hearse for the trip down Constitution Avenue, Trump unleashed part two of the FISA tweet, this time picking Fitton's description of the leadership of the DOJ and FBI, who are both Trump appointees, as being "completely out to lunch."

During a 47-minute pause, the McCain motorcade rolled past the Justice Department building, then passed between the White House, on the right, and the Washington Monument, on the left, ringed with flags at half-staff in McCain's honor.

Silence from the Trump twitter-feed as the cable channels showed Cindy McCain, widow of the late senator, standing before a wreath in McCain's memory at the Vietnam Memorial wall. She was escorted by Trump's chief of staff, John Kelly, and the secretary of defense, James Mattis.

At 9:19 a.m., as Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump arrived at the National Cathedral, where they were greeted by longtime McCain pal Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Trump fired off the the third segment of the FISA tweets, with quotes on the "Fake Dossier" purportedly containing incrimination information on the president.

Report: There were no FISA hearings held over Spy documents.”It is astonishing that the FISA courts couldn’t hold hearings on Spy Warrants targeting Donald Trump. It isn’t about Carter Page, it’s about the Trump Campaign. You’ve got corruption at the DOJ & FBI. The leadership.... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2018

As the motorcade resumed the trip to the National Cathedral, Trump jumped back into his morning tweeting with the fourth part on the "Fake Dossier," this time including a swipe at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who, coincidentally was at that moment in the cathedral preparing to deliver a eulogy for McCain at the senator's request.

At 9:27 a.m, Trump tweeted a quote from conservative commentator Dan Bongino who raises the specter of an Obama administration "police state" going after Trump.

As cameras panned the cathedral gathering, including such members of the Washington elite as former presidents Obama, Clinton, and George W. Bush, along with Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Trump nemesis Ohio gov. John Kasich, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, and even CNN anchor Jake Tapper, Trump took a break.

Trump, who tweeted from the White House, did not stay long enough to watch the McCain services from the president's mansion.

Instead, according to the media pool report, Trump left at 10:35 a.m., during the final moments of Meghan McCain's emotional eulogy to her father.

It appeared he was making his normal Saturday trek to his golf course in Virginia, despite heavy rains in the area Friday night. He was wearig a white shirt-sleeve shirt and a white hat emblazoned with his trademark slogan "Make America Great Again."