Page:CTRL0000034600 - Transcribed Interview of Richard Peter Donoghue, (Oct. 1, 2021).pdf/87

87 Got it.

So I took these notes out in the open in front of the chief of staff—he knew I was taking notes. And they reflect—

—reference Mark Martin and John Eastman. Tell me a little bit about them, what the discussion was.

There was a discussion at this point about what we were calling the original jurisdiction case. And you see number four there on my list. It says: Original J—meaning jurisdiction—case. We told the chief of staff the United States does not have standing. His response was DOJ should talk to the Olsens. And, in parenthetical, I have: attorneys who filed a similar case.

And then the arrow up to the top, which says Mark Martin and John Eastman, they were attorneys of some sort that had, according to the chief of staff, some views or insights about whether or not this original jurisdiction case could be brought at the Supreme Court.

All right. And it says: P trusts them. Or is this another reference to the President actually having some relationship with Mr. Martin and Mr. Eastman?

Yes. President trusts their view.

I see. Okay. All right. And is Mr. Engel, is he there in part because there's a discussion of whether the Department has standing to file a case in the Supreme Court, and that would be a matter in which OLC would be expected to weigh in?

Yes. I think that makes sense. I think Steve was over at the White House, perhaps talking to or meeting with the White House counsel previously, and he sort of just rolled into this meeting when we got over there.

All right. We'll come back to the possibility of a Supreme Court filing. But there are two other issues discussed reflected in your notes on Pennsylvania election