President Donald Trump, accompanied by Republican congressmen and members of his cabinet, departs after speaking at a news conference following a Congressional Republican Leadership Retreat at Camp David, Md., Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018.
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Republican congressmen and members of his cabinet, departs after speaking at a news conference following a Congressional Republican Leadership Retreat at Camp David, Md., Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. Andrew Harnik AP Photo
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Republican congressmen and members of his cabinet, departs after speaking at a news conference following a Congressional Republican Leadership Retreat at Camp David, Md., Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. Andrew Harnik AP Photo

The Latest: Sen. Sanders: Trump may be 'pathological liar'

January 07, 2018 11:47 AM

UPDATED 3 MINUTES AGO

The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):

11:35 a.m.

Sen. Bernie Sanders says he's focused on criticizing President Donald Trump's policies rather than assessing Trump's mental fitness to handle the presidency.

The Vermont lawmaker says he finds many of Trump's statements "offensive" but says he's more bothered by what he describes as Trump's broken promises to working-class Americans.

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Sanders cites Trump's tax overhaul that he says disproportionately benefits the rich, as well as efforts to repeal the Obama-era health law.

Sanders says: "I worry about him being a pathological liar."

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10:15 a.m.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo (pahm-PAY'-oh) gives President Donald Trump his regular intelligence briefings, and says Trump is fully engaged, understands complex issues and asks difficult questions.

Pompeo tells "Fox News Sunday" that Trump is "completely fit" to be commander in chief and that it's "ludicrous" he's being asked such a question. But the issue has arisen as a result of a new book that's raising just that question.

The CIA chief says those kind of questions are coming from "people who just have not accepted the fact that President Trump is the United States president and I'm sorry for them and that."

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9:35 a.m.

President Donald Trump's chief policy adviser is blasting an unflattering new book that has raised new questions about his boss's fitness for office.

Aide Stephen Miller tells CNN's "State of the Union" that the book is — in Miller's words — "nothing but a pile of trash through and through."

And Miller says it's "tragic and unfortunate" that former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who's quoted at length in the book, would make what Miller calls "grotesque comments" that are out of step with reality.

The CNN interview quickly grew heated. Miller criticized CNN's coverage, and CNN host Jake Tapper pressed Miller to answer his questions.

Tapper abruptly ended the interview, calling Miller "obsequious" and accusing Miller of wasting his viewers' time.

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2:40 a.m.

President Donald Trump is plainly agitated by a new book that portrays him as dysfunctional.

He's bemoaning what he called the country's "very weak" libel laws and making the case that he's actually "really smart," as he put it, and indeed, a "very stable genius."

Trump is pushing back against "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House." The book by Michael Wolff paints him as a leader who doesn't understand the weight of his office and whose competence is questioned by aides.

Trump defended his mental competence in a series of tweets Saturday. Later he addressed reporters, and said he went to "the best colleges," made billions, succeeded on TV and became president in his first try.