White House slams Clinton over 'false and reckless' attacks in new book

— -- The White House shot back against Hillary Clinton on Tuesday as the former Democratic presidential nominee kicked off the tour for her new book explaining her 2016 election loss, accusing her of propping up sales with “false and reckless attacks.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked in Tuesday’s daily press briefing whether President Trump has any plans to read Clinton's new book, “What Happened.”

While Sanders brushed off the idea Trump would crack open the more than 500-page account, she instead used it as an opportunity to read off a pre-written rebuttal trashing Clinton.

"I would think that [the president is] pretty well versed on 'What Happened,' and I think it's pretty clear to all of America," Sanders said. "I think it's sad that after Hillary Clinton ran one of the most negative campaigns in history and lost, and the last chapter of her public life is now going to be defined by propping up book sales with false and reckless attacks."

Since Clinton has reemerged on the national scene to promote her latest book, she has similarly leveled fierce attacks against Trump's conduct since taking office. Most recently in an interview with USA Today, Clinton accused Trump's campaign surrogates of assisting Russia in its activities to meddle in the election.

Trump has also repeatedly revived the bitter rhetoric from the campaign, such as using Clinton's email scandal to try to distract from the ongoing investigation into his campaign's possible ties to Russia.

Following the election, the president notably backed off his campaign threat to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton. Though he has since publicly lashed out against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, accusing him in a July tweet of taking "a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes."

The White House denied the president was seeking to influence the DOJ to reopen the investigation into Clinton's email practices.