In the afternoon of May 10, 2017, deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders spoke to the
President about his decision to fire Corney and then spoke to reporters in a televised press
conference.478 Sanders told reporters that the President, the Department of Justice, and bipartisan
members of Congress had lost confidence in Corney, " [a]nd most importantly, the rank and file of
the FBI had lost confidence in their director. Accordingly, the President accepted the
recommendation of his Deputy Attorney General to remove James Corney from his position."479
In response to questions from reporters, Sanders said that Rosenstein decided "on his own" to
review Corney's performance and that Rosenstein decided "on his own" to come to the President
on Monday, May 8 to express his concerns about Corney. When a reporter indicated that the "vast
majority" of FBI agents supported Corney, Sanders said, "Look, we've heard from countless
members of the FBI that say very different things. "48° Following the press conference, Sanders
spoke to the President, who told her she did a good job and did not point out any inaccuracies in
her comments.481 Sanders told this Office that her reference to hearing from "countless members
of the FBI" was a "slip of the tongue."482 She also recalled that her statement in a separate press
interview that rank-and-file FBI agents had lost confidence in Corney was a comment she made
"in the heat of the moment" that was not founded on anything.483