Sarah Sanders lied to the press about the FBI according to Mueller report

Report claims White House press secretary Sarah Sanders fabricated a claim about 'countless conversations' with the FBI

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders answers questions from reporters as she holds a press briefing in the White House briefing room in Washington, US in March. REUTERS

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders lied from the podium and fabricated a claim about “countless conversations” with members of the FBI, the Mueller report says.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation was made public on Thursday.

Ms Sanders comments were made on May 10, 2017, when she defended US President Donald Trump for firing former FBI director James Comey.

She said she had “countless conversations with members from within the FBI,” who had "lost confidence” in Mr Comey.

"Between, like, email, text messages, absolutely. Yes," Ms Sanders had said. "I have heard from a large number of individuals that work at the FBI that said that they’re very happy with the president’s decision."

But in her testimony to Mr Mueller and his team, Ms Sanders completely backtracked on that claim, saying the statements were a “slip of the tongue”, the report stated.

"She also recalled that her statement in a separate press interview that rank-and-file FBI agents had lost confidence in Comey was a comment she made 'in the heat of the moment', that was not founded on anything,” Mr Mueller wrote.

The White House did not respond to a query from The National for comment.

Ms Sanders is facing questions about her credibility and the validity of other claims she has made to the press.