Trump vows to trace leak after aide’s McCain remark

President Donald Trump called West Wing leakers “traitors and cowards”, as a dust-up over a White House aide’s crass remark about veteran Arizona Senator John McCain extended into a fifth day.

Mr Trump tweeted: “Leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over-exaggeration put out by the fake news media to make us look as bad as possible.”

“We will find out who they are,” he said of the leakers.

In a closed-door meeting last week, Trump aide Kelly Sadler dismissed Mr McCain’s opposition to the president’s CIA nominee by saying of the Arizona Republican: “He’s dying anyway.”

Mr McCain, 81, was found in July to have an aggressive form of brain cancer.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said that Ms Sadler had been “dealt with internally”, but refused to say how. Pressed on the issue, he said she apologised privately to the McCain family and remained in her position.

But Mr Shah, who led the meeting in which the comment was made, would no say if disciplinary steps had been taken.

He said he could not discuss how the situation was addressed internally.

Mr McCain left Washington in December and few expect him to return.

Ms Sadler called the senator’s daughter, Meghan McCain, a cohost of ABC’s The View, to apologise last week. McCain told ABC News that during the conversation she had asked the aide to apologise publicly and that Ms Sadler had agreed.

“I have not spoken to her since and I assume that it will never come,” she told ABC.

Several politicians called on the White House to apologise, including John Cornyn of Texas who said on Monday: “The person who said it should apologise. It’s totally inappropriate.”

White House officials condemned the leak of the private conversation and some expressed support for Ms Sadler.

In a Senate speech on Monday, majority leader Mitch McConnell steered clear of her comment but praised the ailing Republican after visiting him over the weekend in Arizona.

“I told him we miss him,” Mr McConnell said.