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44 that you really didn't think there was no there there. You just said no.

Do you think that's a candid statement?

Mr. I do. I do.

Mr. So your testimony then is the same as it is today, that when you went into the Hillary Clinton -- or when the FBI and the Department of Justice went in to interview Hillary Clinton, a decision had not been made about whether or not to prosecute her for anything and all charges were still on the table at that point?

Mr. Correct. The final decision of what our recommendation would be had not been made.

Mr. The final decision.

Mr. Well, sure. You'd be incompetent if you didn't have a view of the case after a year. And, as I said, as I said to the inspector general, it didn't look to me like there was a substantive case there. But you're about to interview the subject, and so you want to keep your mind open to the possibility that you will develop something that needs to be pursued.

Mr. Well, that's a great explanation. Why didn't you give me that explanation in September of 2016 when I asked you that question?

Mr. It's an explanation, Mr. Ratcliffe, that's entirely consistent with the answer I gave you. I don't remember you asking me to explain why I say that. If you did, I'm sorry