Page:CTRL0000034600 - Transcribed Interview of Richard Peter Donoghue, (Oct. 1, 2021).pdf/119

119 to the White House at Pat Cipollone's invitation and fight this out, versus Mr. Clark, who was prepared to step in as Acting Attorney General?

Yes, that's right.

Okay.

Before you go to the White House, do you take some steps to sort of get some internal support within the Department or gather some information from others inside the Department?

We did. As we discussed next steps, I said to the Acting AG, you know, "What can I do to help? What do you need?" And he said, "You know, it'd be helpful to know what the AAGs would do."

He also said, "It's time to broaden the circle, because we don't know how this is going to end. And, in all likelihood, it's going to end with Jeff Clark being the Attorney General within the next few hours, so people need to know what's going on."

So he said, "Can you do a call with the AAGs and just let them know, one, what's going on so they're prepared; and, two, if they have a view as to whether or not they would take any action as a result of this, we should know that because it would help inform the conversation at the White House."

Right.

Pursuant to that, Pat Hovakimian and I set up a call at, I believe, 4:45 with the AAGS. We had them call in on a conference line. We didn't get all of them, but we got most of them. And they called in. Pat and I were in Pat's office, put it on speakerphone.

I said, "I just want to read you in on some things that have been going on over the last couple days you need to know." And I explained what had been going on.

And I said, "I don't want to put anyone on the spot, and I don't need an answer