they be communicating that to you, Director Comey?
Mr. Comey. Why would my staff be telling me?
Mr. Meadows. No. Why would someone at the Department of Justice tell you that Jeff Sessions is going to recuse himself that would actually change your actions and what you decided to do?
Mr. Comey. First of all, I know I said this before, but no one told me from the Department of Justice. If your question is, why would someone at the Department of Justice tell someone at the FBI, that I don't know.
Mr. Meadows. So who told you? I mean, obviously, it changed your decision. So you're saying that you have no knowledge of who told you that Jeff Sessions was on the cusp of recusal?
Mr. Comey. Yeah. It didn't --
Mr. Meadows. That's your testimony?
Mr. Comey. It didn't change my decision. It was --
Mr. Meadows. Well, it obviously did because you didn't take it to the Attorney General, which is the highest law enforcement officer. You didn't take it to him. So your testimony just now suggested that it did change your actions.
Mr. Comey. No. I'm suggesting it was a factor in a decision I made. It was reality, and I stared at that reality and, based on that reality, I made a decision. The decision was, let's hold onto it until they sort out their leadership.
