White House press secretary Sean Spicer speaks to reporters and members of the media during a briefing at the White House in Washington on June 20. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

The Atlantic’s David Graham posed a simple question Tuesday: Why do we even bother with press secretary Sean Spicer’s daily briefings?

Theoretically, the press briefing is meant to meet the needs of both the White House and the media by providing a centralized place to answer questions. Instead of the White House replying to 10 outlets seeking the same information, just do it all at once. Easy enough. But, as Graham noted, Spicer (and deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders) often have no answers.

“Spicer’s vow to ‘get back to you on that’ has become practically a catchphrase,” Graham wrote. And it’s true. By our count, Spicer or Sanders have offered that reply on at least 55 different occasions during briefings or gaggles (less formal group discussions).

Before we walk through those promises, it’s worth noting at least one reason Spicer and Sanders default to a response of “I’ll find out.” One, obviously, is that they genuinely don’t know and are committing to get an answer. Another is probably that they’d rather not offer an answer. This has its own separate possible causes, including that President Trump has a habit of contradicting affirmations made by people who work for him. He’s given his press secretaries a get-out-of-trouble free card on Twitter, as seen below, but it seems clear that the risk of offering a response to even an obvious question sometimes outweighs the reward. Perhaps because that reward is “earning the respect of the media, a group that Trump hates.”)

Below, our list of all of the times someone from the White House communications office promised to get back to the American public with more information — and, to the best of our ability to determine the answer, whether they did. It’s important to note, by the way, that this includes only specific pledges to provide more information.

Feb. 1. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the president gets a verbal security briefing every day. Did he? Apparently not.

Feb. 1. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether Barack Obama will be invited to participate in Black History Month celebrations. Did he? No.

Feb. 3. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the government will track down and deport those whose visas were revoked under the travel ban. Did he? This became irrelevant when the ban was blocked by the courts.

Feb. 7. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the administration had accepted the credentials of the ambassador from Mexico. Did he? The ambassador was accepted.

Feb. 8. Spicer says he will get back to us on who paid for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Mar-a-Lago. Did he? The next day, Trump agreed to pay the costs.

Feb. 17. Sanders says she will get back to us on the timeline for replacing Michael Flynn as national security adviser. Did she? This was eventually revealed.

Feb. 17. Sanders says she will get back to us on who was paying for Air Force One’s travel to a Trump campaign rally. Did she? Apparently not.

Feb. 21. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the president will respond to a letter from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) about arming Ukraine. Did he? Apparently not.

Feb. 22. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether Trump still feels that the program to delay deporting the children of immigrants in the country illegally was unconstitutional. Did he? Apparently not.

Feb. 27. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the administration will defend its first immigration ban. Did he? Yes.

Feb. 28. Sanders says she will get back to us on who was involved in drafting the strategy for combating the Islamic State. Did she? Apparently not.

Feb. 28. Sanders says she will get back to us on whether the Indian foreign secretary would meet with administration staff during an upcoming visit. Did she? The secretary met with Tillerson the following week.

March 1. Spicer says he will get back to us on who was involved in drafting the strategy for combating the Islamic State. This is the second such promise. Did he? Apparently not.

March 3. Sanders says she will get back to us on a reaction from the White House to an arrest related to threats against Jewish community centers. Did she? Apparently not.

March 6. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the administration would dismiss cases brought under the first immigration ban after the second was released. Did he? Spicer later explained that both bans would be defended.

March 7. Spicer says he will get back to us on specific legislation rolling back federal regulations. Did he? It’s not clear.

March 7. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether Trump will stop making accusations on Twitter that he later refuses to defend. Did he? No.

March 7. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether Trump will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Did he? This was eventually revealed.

March 8. Spicer says he will get back to us on how the president felt about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Did he? No, but Trump later told the Wall Street Journal that he liked low interest rates.

March 8. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether Trump has confidence in Janet L. Yellen. Did he? No, but Trump later told the Wall Street Journal that he likes her.

March 9. Spicer says he will get back to us on other groups that might meet with the president about health-care reform. Did he? Apparently not.

March 13. Spicer says he will get back to us on the repercussions for those who violate the lobbying prohibitions instituted by the administration. Did he? Yes, on March 16.

March 14. Spicer says he will get back to us on the repercussions for those who violate the lobbying prohibitions instituted by the administration. This is the second such promise. Did he? Yes, on March 16.

March 14. Spicer says he will get back to us on the senators who met with Trump at the White House. Did he? Apparently not.

March 20. Spicer says he will get back to us on which members of the administration weren’t taking any salary. Did he? Apparently not.

March 23. Spicer says he will get back to us on the White House’s nuclear posture review. Did he? It began in mid-April.

March 23. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the administration would release a statement about the Iranian New Year. Did he? The White House released a statement.

April 13. Spicer says he will get back to us on why the president changed his position on the Export-Import Bank. Did he? Apparently not.

April 17. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the president would ever release his tax returns. Did he? Not yet.

April 19. Spicer says he will get back to us on why a meeting with former Colombian presidents wasn’t made public. Did he? Apparently not.

April 25. Spicer says he will get back to us on how many regulatory reform offices had been established. Did he? Apparently not.

April 27. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether retirement plans would be protected under the administration’s tax plan. Did he? Yes.

May 8. Spicer says he will get back to us on the members of the president’s opioid commission. Did he? The names were released May 10.

May 9. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether a fired usher got a generous severance package. Did he? Apparently not.

May 9. Spicer says he will get back to us on when we could expect an announcement on the administration’s policy toward the International Monetary Fund. Did he? Apparently not.

May 9. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether a meeting between Ivanka Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt was canceled. Did he? Apparently not.

May 9. Spicer says he will get back to us on the president’s role in firing FBI Director James B. Comey. Did he? It was eventually revealed.

May 10. Sanders says she will get back to us on whether the president had been briefed on anti-gay violence in Chechnya. Did she? Apparently not.

May 10. Sanders says she will get back to us on whether the president had spoken to the attorney general about Comey after receiving his letter but before the firing. Did she? Apparently not.

May 12. Spicer says he will get back to us on why Trump repeatedly asked Comey if he was under investigation. Did he? It was eventually revealed.

May 12. Spicer says he will get back to us on how Comey ended up dining at the White House. Did he? It was eventually revealed.

May 15. Spicer says he will get back to us on how Comey ended up dining at the White House. This is the second such promise. Did he? It was eventually revealed.

May 16. Spicer says he will get back to us on what Trump views as the long-term goals of Russia. Did he? Apparently not.

May 30. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether Trump will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. This is the second such promise. Did he? It was eventually revealed.

June 2. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether Trump thinks climate change is exacerbated by humans — if he has a chance to talk to him. Did he? Not yet.

June 5. Sanders says she will get back to us on why there’s no ambassador to Britain yet. Did she? Apparently not.

June 5. Sanders says she will get back to us on who removed a reference to Article V from a speech Trump gave at NATO. Did she? Apparently not.

June 6. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the administration would release a statement about the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. Did he? Not yet.

June 8. Sanders says she will get back to us on whether Trump initiated all nine contacts between himself and Comey. Did she? Apparently not.

June 12. Spicer says he will get back to us on when there would be a news conference about the fight against the Islamic State. Did he? Not yet.

June 15. Sanders says she will get back to us on why Christopher A. Wray’s nomination to replace Comey hadn’t been sent to the Senate. Did she? Apparently not.

June 15. Sanders says she will get back to us on whether Trump would nominate an ambassador to Cuba. Did she? Not yet. It was promised this week.

June 19. Spicer says he will get back to us on Trump’s position on Yucca Mountain. Did he? Not yet.

June 19. Spicer says he will get back to us on replacing members of an HIV/AIDS council. Did he? Not yet.

June 20. Spicer says he will get back to us on whether the president thinks the Russians meddled in the 2016 election. Did he? No, but Trump had previously said he did believe that — and that he didn’t.

It is possible that we missed some of the responses that ensued to the promises made by Spicer and Sanders. (If we have, don’t hesitate to email.) Generally speaking, though, it’s clear that the goal is less frequently to tell the media that the information was not at hand and more frequently simply to deflect the question indefinitely.

Spicer and Sanders do provide useful information. But if the media wants to pin them down on something more controversial, the most effective strategy appears to be to ask over and over again.