Page:CTRL0000034600 - Transcribed Interview of Richard Peter Donoghue, (Oct. 1, 2021).pdf/110

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overnment have some oversight responsibility, or something like that. And DAG Rosen said, no, we don't. The States conduct the elections. And to the extent that the Federal Government is involved, it's DHS providing assistance to the States, support for things like software selection and quality control and things like that.

And, at that point, he got Ken Cuccinelli on the phone—the President had one of his support staff get Ken Cuccinelli on the phone. And the President said something to the effect of, "Ken, the Acting Attorney General is telling me it's your job to seize machines," which is not what the Acting Attorney General had said.

And then Ken responded and said, no, Mr. President, that's not the way it works. We provide support, et cetera.

Q Uh-huh.

A And then he hung up the phone, and that was it.

Q Yeah.

You mentioned, Mr. Donoghue, that the President was more animated, continued to talk about the election being stolen. Did anyone else in the meeting express similar perspectives or seem similarly exercised about the allegations of voter fraud? Or was it just the President, himself, that was expressing that frustration?

A That was just the President. I mean, the rest of us were there to hear him out and respond. And we did. And we told him that there were issues here. You know, if rules were changed along the way and things like that, maybe there's something to that, Mr. President, but that's got nothing to do with the Department. Your lawyers, through civil lawsuits, can pursue those matters, and we just have nothing to do with that. So—

Q Uh-huh. And did Mr. Meadows or Mr. Cipollone or Mr. Philbin say anything at all inconsistent with that, with what you and Mr. Rosen were telling the President in