Follow the White House press briefing

By Veronica Rocha, Meg Wagner and Brian Ries, CNN

Updated 7:48 p.m. ET, August 15, 2018
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3:01 p.m. ET, August 15, 2018

JUST IN: White House says Trump has revoked former CIA director's security clearance

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders just opened today's press briefing with a stunning announcement: President Trump has revoked ex-CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance.

Sanders, reading from a letter written by Trump, said:

As the head of the executive branch and commander-in-chief, I have a unique constitutional responsibility to protect the nation's classified information. Including by controlling access to it. Today in fulfilling that responsibility, I've decided to revoke the security clearance of John Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Watch:

2:36 p.m. ET, August 15, 2018

What happened at yesterday's press briefing

Sarah Sanders' Tuesday press briefing opened as she planned, with defense officials discussing the possible repatriated remains of unnamed US troops killed during the Korean War. But it quickly went sideways.

First, the White House press secretary was asked about President Trump’s language on Twitter calling Omarosa Manigault Newman a “crazed, crying lowlife” and a "dog." She sought to defend the President, claiming he was “voicing frustration." Sanders added it had "nothing to do with race and everything to do with the President calling out someone’s lack of integrity."

She was then pressed specifically on whether any recording of the President using the n-word exists. Sanders said: “I can’t guarantee anything," before adding Trump has already addressed the question.

During the briefing, as Sanders sought to defend the President's record on race, she then incorrectly claimed Trump has already tripled Obama's record over eight years for creating jobs for black workers. She later issued a rare correction and apologized.