Page:CTRL0000034600 - Transcribed Interview of Richard Peter Donoghue, (Oct. 1, 2021).pdf/45

45 the Department to do something about it.

And, to some extent, we were, but, at the same time, we have a very limited role in all this. The President didn't seem to understand that we, the Department, have a very limited role. And we had to explain that to the President repeatedly after AG Barr left. I would imagine that he was having similar conversations with the President prior to his departure, but he wasn't giving me the details of those conversations.

I see. So the tension surrounded the Department's limited role in elections? Or is it your view that it was broader than that, that it extended to other issues on which they had interaction?

I don't think it was limited to the election.

What—again, your impressions? I understand that this is just based on your conversations with him or others. What other sources of tension were there?

You know, again, I wouldn't want to speculate. And I say that only because, you know, it appeared to me that there was frustration even before the election and certainly before December 1st. Attorney General Barr and the President are very different personalities, and they have very different approaches to things. And so I would imagine it was a difficult time for the Attorney General.

Yeah. I understand.

All right. One last question. Did Mr. Rosen tell you anything about his conversation with the President when he was offered the AG job? Did he provide any quotes or comments or color to that conversation?

He did. It was very short, the phone conversation was very short, because he came into my office within a few minutes of him getting the phone call in the conference room.

And he said, "Spoke to the President. He did ask me to serve as the Acting