White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Screenshot of C-SPAN video)

(CNSNews.com) - During the press briefing at the White House Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made a statement about a New York Times report on the DOJ preparing to sue colleges over affirmative action, saying that it was from “uncorroborated inferences” leaked in violation of Department of Justice policy.



On Tuesday, the New York Times published a story claiming that the “Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants.”





It reported that the story came from a “document obtained by the New York Times,” which reportedly is “an internal announcement to the civil rights division.”



A reporter asked at the briefing, “Does the president believe that white applicants to college are victims of discrimination?”



Sanders responded, “I am not aware of that opinion at all. I certainly haven’t had that conversation or have any reason to --”



The reporter followed up, “So can you explain why the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is devoting its limited time and resources to --”



“That’s quite an accusatory question, but I’d be happy to respond,” replied Sanders.



“The New York Times story is based entirely on uncorroborated inferences from a leaked internal personnel posting in violation of Department of Justice policy,” she said.



“And, while the White House does not confirm or deny the existence of potential investigations, the Department of Justice will always review credible allegation on the basis of any race,” stated Sanders.