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 out anyone in the Trump campaign as potentially a target of th[e] criminal investigation," including whether the FBI had "ruled out the president of the United States."

Comey was also asked at the hearing about his decision to announce 11 days before the presidential election that the FBI was reopening the Clinton email investigation. Comey stated that it made him "mildly nauseous to think that we might have had some impact on the election," but added that "even in hindsight" he "would make the same decision." He later repeated that he had no regrets about how he had handled the email investigation and believed he had "done the right thing at each turn."

In the afternoon following Comey's testimony, the President met with McGahn, Sessions, and Sessions's Chief of Staff Jody Hunt. At that meeting, the President asked McGahn how Comey had done in his testimony and McGahn relayed that Comey had declined to answer questions about whether the President was under investigation. The President became very upset and directed his anger at Sessions.393 According to notes written by Hunt, the President said, "This is terrible Jeff. It's all because you recused. AG is supposed to be most important appointment. Kennedy appointed his brother. Obama appointed Holder. | appointed you and you recused yourself. You left me on an island. I can't do anything." The President said that the recusal was unfair and that it was interfering with his ability to govern and undermining his authority with foreign leaders." Sessions responded that he had had no choice but to recuse, an it was a mandatory rather than discretionary decision. Hunt recalled that Sessions also stated at