U.S. Department of Justice
Attorney Work Product // May Contain Material Protected Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)
out anyone in the Trump campaign as potentially a target of th[e] criminal investigation," including whether the FBI had "ruled out the president of the United States."[1]
Comey was also asked at the hearing about his decision to announce 11 days before the presidential election that the FBI was reopening the Clinton email investigation.[2] Comey stated that it made him "mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election," but added that "even in hindsight" he "would make the same decision."[3] He later repeated that he had no regrets about how he had handled the email investigation and believed he had "done the right thing at each turn."[4]
In the afternoon following Comey's testimony, the President met with McGahn, Sessions, and Sessions's Chief of Staff Jody Hunt.[5] At that meeting, the President asked McGahn how Comey had done in his testimony and McGahn relayed that Comey had declined to answer questions about whether the President was under investigation.[6] The President became very upset and directed his anger at Sessions.393 According to notes written by Hunt, the President said, "This is terrible Jeff. It's all because you recused. AG is supposed to be most important appointment. Kennedy appointed his brother. Obama appointed Holder. | appointed you and you recused yourself. You left me on an island. I can't do anything."[7] The President said that the recusal was unfair and that it was interfering with his ability to govern and undermining his authority with foreign leaders."[8] Sessions responded that he had had no choice but to recuse, an it was a mandatory rather than discretionary decision.[9] Hunt recalled that Sessions also stated at
- ↑ Hearing on FBI Oversight Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 115th Cong. (May 3, 2017) (CQ Cong. Transcripts, at 87-88) (questions by Sen. Blumenthal and testimony by FBI Director James B. Comey).
- ↑ Hearing on FBI Oversight Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 115th Cong. (May 3, 2017) (CQ Cong. Transcripts, at 15) (question by Sen, Feinstein).
- ↑ Hearing on FBI Oversight Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 115th Cong. (May 3, 2017) - (CQ Cong. Transcripts, at 17) (testimony by FBI Director James B. Comey).
- ↑ Hearing on FBI Oversight Before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 115th Cong. (May 3, 2017) (CQ Cong. Transcripts, at 92) (testimony by FBI Director James B. Comey).
- ↑ Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 8; Hunt 2/1/18 302, at 8.
- ↑ Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 8; Hunt-000021 (Hunt 5/3/17 Notes); McGahn 3/8/18 302, at 6. 393 Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 8-9.
- ↑ Hunt-000021 (Hunt 5/3/17 Notes). Hunt said that he wrote down notes describing this meeting and others with the President after the events occurred, Hunt 2/1/17 302, at 2.
- ↑ Hunt-000021-22 (Hunt 5/3/17 Notes) ("I have foreign leaders saying they are sorry I am being investigated."); Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 8 (Sessions recalled that a Chinese leader had said to the President that he was sorry the President was under investigation, which the President interpreted as undermining his authority); Hunt 2/1/18 302, at 8.
- ↑ Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 8; Hunt-000022 (Hunt 5/3/17 Notes).
several times during his testimony. See id. at 26 (explaining that he was "not going to say another peep about [the investigation] until we're done"); id. at 90 (stating that he would not provide any updates about the status of investigation "before the matter is concluded").
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