Page:CTRL0000034609 - Transcribed Interview of Kashyap Pramod Patel, (December 9, 2021).pdf/113

113 there and the right people were getting the right subject matter.

They would also be in contact with the incoming counsel throughout government to address matters that they needed to address. So Mr. Ney's role was extensive and his team—I think there's, I don't know, I'm guessing 300-plus lawyers at the Department of Defense who were involved in the transition in some way.

And Mr. Ney was an appointee for—at DOD general counsel?

He was the general counsel. I don't know that process, but I think he's an appointee.

Was it a typical process for the GC to be present at every interview that's—

Well, the—he, the GC, was not, right. A representative from the General Counsel's Office would be present to make sure there was no spillage of classified information, the people were coming in had the right clearances, and there was nothing shared that should not be shared with people who didn't have the subject matter requirements.

Were you familiar that the GC or the representative from the GC's Office would read a card establishing the guidelines at the start of every one of those interviews with the Biden-Harris transition team?

That sounds familiar. In my recollection with Mr. Muir and his team and the general counsel's team, they wanted to, in the interest to protect the Department, sort of lay out the parameters of what the discussion would be about, and if there were any things that the folks who were meeting wanted other information, those requests were brought back to Mr. Muir.

Were you involved in establishing those guidelines that were set forth at the beginning?

I think, generally, I was—you know, we had meetings regularly about how to