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Trump Organization Fined $1.6 Million; White House Press Briefing; Biden Document Investigation. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 13, 2023 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:02]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: The second largest in that lottery's history.

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Thanks for your time on INSIDE POLITICS. I hope you have a pleasant weekend.

Bianna Golodryga picks up our coverage right now.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

Well, less than 24 hours after a special counsel was named to investigate the potential mishandling of classified documents, President Biden is avoiding questions and the special counsel is making moves. The Justice Department has interviewed Biden's former executive assistant who was on the team that packed up his office at the end of the Obama administration.

We're also told that process was messy. Then-Vice President Biden was completing high-profile work right up until President Trump's inauguration. And that led to a mad dash to close up the office while Biden was still using it.

CNN's Phil Mattingly and Evan Perez are covering all angles in Washington for us.

And, Evan, we know Biden's former executive assistant had been questioned. We're also learning more about the materials that were found with the classified documents. Tell us exactly what the special counsel, Rob Hur, will be looking at here.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, right.

One of the first things he's trying to do is set up an office. He's trying to hire and bring in people who are going to be part of this investigation. But a lot of work has already gone on, already happened during the investigation that was being handled by John Lausch, the Chicago U.S. attorney who did the initial preliminary work on this. And, as Phil Mattingly reported, the president's former executive

assistant Kathy Chung was already interviewed. A number of other interviews already took place. And then Rob Hur is coming in and he's going to probably want to talk to a number of other people. They want to -- one of the things they're going to want to make sure is that there are no other documents out there.

And that's something that he's going to have to work with the president's team. Rob Hur is a career prosecutor here in Washington. He did serve as a political appointee in the Biden administration. And the documents that we're talking about, we know a little bit about the initial batch, the 10 documents that were turned over first in November.

They included a briefing memo from the vice president then, Joe Biden, to President Obama. There was also some briefing memos that were prepared for Biden before he made phone calls with foreign leaders, including the U.K. prime minister and an official from the European Union. So those are the types of documents that we're talking about.

The question is, what else is there, Bianna, and the level of classification on some of those? Are sources and methods at risk in the way those documents were being stored, Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: And, Phil, all of this has happened. We should note that a White House press briefing is currently under way right now. So if this discussion comes up, we will bring that to you.

But as you and I speak right now, as you know, the White House is under scrutiny for how it has handled this, with details coming out piecemeal throughout this week. After everything that happened with President Trump's documents scandal, why wasn't the White House better prepared now?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, to some degree, I think the view inside the White House that this was such a dramatically different case than what everybody had seen with former President Trump, particularly in his lack of willingness to turn over documents, the fact documents were specifically requested that he wouldn't turn over, they just viewed these as two very different things.

And to some degree, that may have played a role in the fact that they were caught on their back foot over the course of the last several days. And they have now reached a moment that I think, one, you knew from talking to White House officials, they certainly didn't want to be in, dealing with the special counsel, but, two, even just a few days ago, they didn't expect to be in, particularly not this quickly.

And that has underscored a reality that, over the course of the two months where this has been under way, where the review was under way, where White House officials were cognizant of the fact that not only was there one set of documents that had been discovered, there was actually a second set discovered on December 20, that second set not disclosed, when the first statement from the White House acknowledging those classified documents was released, when the first comments from President Biden came out only referring to that first set of documents, is that this was kept to a very small circle of senior advisers and lawyers in the White House Counsel's Office.

It has now obviously expanded out and they are in the process of, to some degree, as one person described it to me, scrambling to try and meet the needs of this moment. And those needs, I think, Bianna, as you know well and I know Evan does as well, are very real. And I think they are widespread to some degree.

Just as the special counsel has to set up an office, has to set up a team, has to set up processes to move under way to start this investigation from his side of things, the White House is now in a very different place as well in terms of who will lead and be a part of the president's legal team outside the White House, how they will respond within the White House, how that operation will work.

[13:05:10]

That is now currently a process that's under way, again, underscoring that this wasn't something they were prepared for, expected and most certainly was not something they wanted, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and a fast-moving chain of events just this week, if we go back to Monday, was when we first heard about these documents. And now here we are, Friday, and we are talking about a special counsel that had been appointed to investigate it all.

Evan Perez and Phil Mattingly, thank you so much.

We also have an update on the other classified documents probe headed by the other special counsel, this one centered on former President Trump. We have learned those investigators want to interview the Trump staffers who searched his properties in November for additional classified materials.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is tracking all of this for us.

So, Kaitlan, I know you're reporting the prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith's team have gone back and forth for the past couple of months with Trump's defense lawyers about whether Trump has fully complied with a subpoena issued last May for classified documents.

So are they still not convinced that he's turned everything over?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: They appear not to be at this time, or at least they want to make sure that he has turned everything over.

Bianna, there's a lot of talk about special counsel Jack Smith's appointment in November, now this new appointment of special counsel Rob Hur on the Biden investigation. But this investigation into the handling of presidential records and national security information after Donald Trump less left the presidency, that criminal investigation has been going on for a year.

Part of that investigation is an obstruction of justice investigation, whether Trump and his team could have obstructed justice or wanted to obstruct justice after there were classified documents discovered being kept at Mar-a-Lago in Florida a year ago. They -- we also know that the Justice Department still, to this day, they're investigating that criminal probe.

They're also trying to secure the national security secrets, make sure there's nothing else out there. And to finish or at least to continue that investigation, Kaitlan Collins and I confirmed that they want to interview the two people the Trump team hired in November to do searches who found two classified documents just this past November.

It's very likely those people will talk to the Justice Department, but we know the Trump team is trying to negotiate and narrow that a little bit, if they can -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Katelyn Polantz, continue to follow this story for us. Thank you.

Let's discuss this all with -- these two investigations with CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams, correspondent Abby Phillip.

So, Elliot, let me begin with you. So, here we have two special counsel's investigating how classified documents were handled by two different presidents. I know the circumstances are different. And, as we just heard from Katelyn, Trump has not been complying with that investigation, Jack Smith's team not confident that all the documents have been turned over.

It does appear at this point that Biden's team is complying. So, given that, how will it impact Rob Hur's investigation into the Biden case?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well certainly, his level of cooperation or any subject of an investigation's level of cooperation is going to have an impact on the case, in terms of, are there obstruction charges down the road?

But I think it's really important, even though the Justice Department had to almost -- their hand was forced here into appointing a special counsel, to treat and regard these two special counsel investigations, it's very, very different.

And, frankly, they ought not even be communicating with each other or sharing each other's work because of how different the two investigations are. But you're absolutely right with that question, Bianna. By cooperating and by being more forthcoming, they will make lives -- their lives easier on themselves in a way that the former President Trump just has not.

GOLODRYGA: So these documents for Biden's time came when he was vice president. That's what we know thus far. We know the DOJ has spoken to his former executive assistant.

Who else do you think they will likely speak with at this point? I mean, could you see a scenario where they speak with the president himself? (CROSSTALK)

GOLODRYGA: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Elliot. Then we will have Abby jump in.

I'm sorry, Elliot.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Also, I'm sure Elliot has some thoughts about that too.

But I do think that, at this point, the president and really anybody who had involvement in the White House at that time in packing those boxes, getting them out of the White House -- we know that they went to a storage facility before they were then transferred to other places like his personal office at Penn.

There are some really important questions here about the chain of custody of these documents, and whether President Biden even knew what was being packed and where it was being sent. One of the key pieces of information that we learned in our reporting earlier in the week was that some of the documents were in or around really highly personal, highly sensitive personal documents to Biden, information about his son's funeral, et cetera.

[13:10:05]

And so it really leads to the question of, were those files really touched in the last several years because of how sensitive they were? And would Biden even have known what was there? Who was responsible for putting them there? And did anybody -- was it a mistake? Did they do their due diligence, or was it negligence?

Were they supposed to have looked through these documents, and they didn't do it because they were rushed or lazy or what have you? I think those are all questions that need to be answered.

GOLODRYGA: Elliot, let me get you to weigh in here.

You think that we could see President Biden actually being interviewed by Rob Hur's team?

WILLIAMS: Well, let me put it this way. I think you're far more likely to see President Biden interviewed than former President Trump, only on account of the level of cooperation that it appears that the Biden team is already pursuing here.

Now, look, I think the president was and his team were very deliberate on that -- at that first press conference of saying that, number one, he was not aware of the documents, was surprised to know of their being misplaced, trying to make some distance between the president and the documents that were found.

So, perhaps the argument is that it was an inadvertent mistake by other people and not the president himself. Now, you don't need to interview the president to confirm that, but, certainly, I think it's in their interests, if law enforcement wishes to speak to him, to comply with that request.

GOLODRYGA: So, Abby, and it's important that Elliot make a note on how different these two investigations are.

That having been said, this is an administration which touted and ran on their level of competence, their experience, the fact that President Biden has served both in the Senate and obviously as vice president, and took classified materials very seriously. That's what he has said before.

He even weighed in on the investigation into how President Trump, former President Trump handled these materials. How does this impact the administration right now and how they're perceived?

PHILLIP: Look, I think it's a real problem for them that the argument about the Trump case from the president himself was basically, who does this? How could something like this have happened?

And well, now, he's facing a very similar problem, where documents that should have been turned over to the government at the end of his time in the White House were not. And that's a that's a real problem. It's a political problem. It's a public relations problem.

And those problems matter too. I think people's perception of how egregious Trump's behavior was will be colored by the fact that it has happened in another instance with this very president who's in the White House right now when he was vice president. And I think it's going to make it difficult.

Not only that, but if you look at what's happening on Capitol Hill, this is getting folded into all of these investigations that Republicans were planning on doing anyway. They're bringing in the president's son Hunter Biden into this. They're bringing in China into this. And we don't know if any of those things have any merit. But that's not going to stop it from being part of an investigative drive from Republicans that's highly partisan in nature and that's designed really to damage Biden politically.

GOLODRYGA: Elliot, before we wrap up here, if I could just get you to weigh in, clearly, you see the attorney general wanting to isolate himself from these two investigations right now by bringing in these two special counsels.

I'm just curious. Now that we have two investigations going, what happens in the scenario that Jack Smith, who's investigating former President Trump, comes to Garland and says, I recommend that the president be indicted on obstruction or whatever charge?

Given that you have another ongoing investigation, does that impact his ultimate decision because it does lie with him? And here you have a scenario where there's a longstanding policy in the DOJ that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

WILLIAMS: Look, it's very much in the attorney general's interest to adhere to the recommendation that the special counsel makes. And the attorney general, I believe, has said that he intends to give

serious consideration to what the special counsel recommends. And, moreover, if he ends up going against that recommendation, he has to report that to Congress anyway. And to the point that Abby was making a moment ago, lord knows how that's going to go, when he has to testify before Congress about recommendations that he's made.

So part of the reason for putting these special counsels in the first place was to insulate himself from some of the political blowback. And I would think he would probably follow those recommendations, whatever they want.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Elliot Williams, Abby Phillip, thank you so much. Have a great weekend.

PHILLIP: You too.

GOLODRYGA: Well, a lawyer for the Trump family business says that they will appeal a judge's ruling that slapped the organization today with a $1.6 million fine. That is the maximum allowed to be fined.

CNN's Kara Scannell here with the latest.

So, Kara, can you walk us through this ruling?

[13:15:01]

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna.

They were convicted last month of 17 felonies for running a decade- long tax fraud scheme, paying off-the-books compensation to some of its top executives through company-paid apartments and cars. So, the judge today sentencing the Trump Organization entities to a $1.6 million fine. As you said, that's the maximum allowed -- amount allowed under the law.

Now, no individual will go to jail, because it was just the company that was on trial. But it is still a symbolic moment, the former president's business being sentenced after that conviction.

I caught up with the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and asked him why this case was important. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: As you said earlier, this is the first time a former president's company has been criminally convicted that we can think of in modern times. Why was that an important case to bring and to see through to today?

ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We all stand before the court equal. And this type of conduct, we said it to the jury, the jury so found, the judge said it, greed, greed, pure and simple, bilking our public fixed, hard-earned taxpayer money, and being done by someone who was the former leader of our country, very consequential. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now, Bragg also said that this fine is not high enough. He's going to work with lawmakers in Albany to try to increase this.

And that was one of the arguments that one of his attorneys made before the judge today, arguing for the maximum...

GOLODRYGA: Kara, I'm -- I'm sorry to cut you off.

We're going to take you to the White House now at the daily briefing, where Karine Jean-Pierre is now talking about these documents that are under investigation...

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: ... refer you to my colleagues over at the White House counsel.

I'm not going to get into any specifics from here.

Go ahead, Mary.

QUESTION: Aside from the special counsel, aside from this review, I just have a question about processing classified documents and their handling, because I think there's some confusion amongst the public and even in this room.

What is the process to make sure that classified documents aren't accidentally or intentionally taken when a president or vice president leaves office? What's the protocol? Or is this sort of just a self- review system?

JEAN-PIERRE: It's a good question.

I would -- on the process and how that works, I would certainly refer to you the White House Counsel's Office. They would know that. They can walk you through that, my colleagues there. And I know many of you have been in touch with my colleagues in the last 24 hours, in direct touch, and answering many of your questions.

So, I would refer you to them on the specific process, so they will certainly guide you in the right way.

QUESTION: And, as far as you know, is it ever OK for classified documents to be mixed with personal...

(CROSSTALK)

JEAN-PIERRE: What I can say -- look, what I can say is what the president has said before, what I have said multiple times. We take this very seriously. The president takes classified information, classified documents very seriously.

But, look, I have said this before. We have addressed this issue multiple times at length. And we have been fully cooperating with the Department of Justice and now we will be doing the same with the special counsel's office out of -- just to be prudent here and just to make sure that we are consistent.

I would refer you anything that is related to this to -- as it relates to the review to the Department of Justice or my colleagues at the White House Counsel Office. And this is -- we see it as the best way to move forward. We want to respect the process. And so that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to refer you to the Department of Justice.

QUESTION: To be clear, you're confident he followed whatever protocol was in place?

JEAN-PIERRE: Again, this is something that he takes very seriously, the president, when it comes to classified documents, when it comes to classified information.

I'm not going to go into any specifics from here. If you have any questions, anything further that's related to the review or -- I refer you to the Department of Justice or my colleagues over at the White House Counsel's Office, who I know many of you who I'm staring at right now have been in close touch.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: A few things. Karine, thank you.

Following up on the State of the Union, I believe it was the president who suggested he has spoken with Speaker McCarthy. Is there any plans for them to meet in person before February?

JEAN-PIERRE: Yes, they spoke. And I think we actually shared that with all of you.

The day that Speaker McCarthy became speaker, you heard or you saw a statement from the president and the first lady congratulating Kevin McCarthy becoming speaker. And then the next day, I believe it was -- that was on a Friday. I believe the next day, which was a Saturday, the president had a direct conversation.

He connected with Speaker McCarthy and congratulated him in person.

QUESTION: But no plans yet for...

JEAN-PIERRE: I don't have a plan -- I don't have a scheduled meeting to share with you at this time.

QUESTION: I want to follow up on a few things from yesterday.

When was the president informed about the attorney general's decision to appoint a special counsel, how and by whom?

JEAN-PIERRE: So, the specifics on that, I can tell -- here's what I can tell you.

I can you that we were not given a heads-up. I was asked that question yesterday. We did not know that that was -- the announcement was going to come until after it happened. So I can clear the deck there and let you know.

[13:20:09]

Anything else specific to when the president knew or anything that is related to this, I would refer you to the White House Counsel's Office. I know many of you that I'm looking at right now has been in close touch with my colleague there. And so I would continue to refer you to my colleague at the White House Counsel's Office.

QUESTION: One of things that they finally confirmed to us is that Bob Bauer is indeed the president's personal attorney is handling some of this.

Given that the Justice Department cited the personal counsel as having made this initial outreach to National Archives and has been in touch with the Justice Department, is that the person who these questions should be directed? Why the White House counsel?

JEAN-PIERRE: I will say this again. I would -- whatever the White House counsel, my colleague told you in your conversation, I know you guys just spoke or connected earlier today, I would ask them that question.

And anything related to the review, I would refer you to the Department of Justice.

QUESTION: And regarding of extraordinary measures that the Treasury secretary announced a little while ago in advanced notice to Congress, is there a policy that requires her to give advanced notice of those plans?

JEAN-PIERRE: You would have to reach out to the Department of Treasury on how that process works.

What I can say is, just so that everyone knows, the folks who are watching, the debt limit is projected to be reached on Thursday, January 19. At that point, Treasury will begin to take extraordinary measures to prevent default.

Secretary Yellen did not name a specific X-date as well, the day Treasury would no longer be able to pay the government's obligations, but quoting from her letter: "It's unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June. But that does not mean that Congress should not wait until then to raise the debt ceiling. As we have been saying over and over again, the sooner Congress acts, the better, since even the process of not raising the debt ceiling will damage the full faith and the credit of our nation."

And, again, we are going to continue to encourage Congress to act. But as far as the steps and how this all works, I would refer you to the Department of Treasury.

QUESTION: Six days until the 19th. A few years ago, she did it about 10 days before...

(CROSSTALK) JEAN-PIERRE: I understand. I would refer you to the Department of Treasury.

QUESTION: Nothing to it being announced today amid the situation that the White House is facing?

JEAN-PIERRE: I would refer you to the Department of Treasury.

And just to be very clear here, Ed, we have -- I have been in here almost every day since we got back from Mexico City, standing here, taking your questions at length, so that we're not avoiding anything here. And you have heard from the president at least twice. And we have put forth multiple statements from the White House Counsel's Office. So that suggestion, I just disagree with.

Go ahead, Kristen.

QUESTION: Karine, thank you so much.

Does the White House and the does the president agree to fully cooperate with the special counsel investigation?

JEAN-PIERRE: We have said that we are going to continue to fully cooperate. We have been. The president's lawyers and team has been fully cooperating with the Department of Justice. And we're certainly -- they're certainly going to do that with the special counsel.

QUESTION: And so by that reasoning, would the president agree to sit for an on-the-record in-person interview?

JEAN-PIERRE: I'm just not -- I'm not going to get into specifics or get ahead of what's going to happen.

I'm not going to get into the hypotheticals, because that is a hypothetical. What I will say is, we have addressed this multiple times at length, and we are going to continue, the president's team is going to continue to fully cooperate with the Department of Justice. And we respect that process. And that's what we're going to do.

QUESTION: The president had said he hopes to speak about this soon. When can people expect to hear from him about this?

JEAN-PIERRE: Don't have -- again, that's a -- that is something that I can't -- I don't have a magic wand here. I don't know when that's going to happen.

What I can say is, his team is going to fully cooperate with the Department of Justice. Let's not forget, the president said during the campaign that when it comes to the Department of Justice independence, he respects that, and that is something that he had said was incredibly important to make sure that they had their independence.

That's why we say we're going to make sure that they have their independence. And that's why I'm saying that we're going to refer to the Department of Justice.

QUESTION: And let me just ask you a big picture question here.

Does the White House, broadly speaking, have an obligation to share not just with the National Archives, but with the American people, when the existence of classified information is found in a private location?

JEAN-PIERRE: Again, there's a process in this.

QUESTION: But just big picture, not necessarily in this instance.

But is it the policy of the White House that they should share that information, not just with the National Archives, but with the American people?

JEAN-PIERRE: So, I will say this, Kristen.

[13:25:00]

We have been transparent in the last couple of days. Remember, there's an ongoing process. And we have spoken when it is appropriate. And we have shared -- again, I have been here almost every day, not every day, but from Wednesday, yesterday and today, taking your questions on this.

The White House counsel has put out a very extensive -- multiple statements on this as well. And you all -- I know you all have been talking -- many of you here have been talking to my colleague in the White House counsel. So, what the -- the actions that we took were right actions that his team took in dealing with the Department of Justice, and also the Archives.

Look, I have...

QUESTION: You guys have answered questions when the press has broken and the news...

JEAN-PIERRE: Because it's an ongoing process, because, again, it is an ongoing process.

There is a process here. The Department of Justice is independent. We respect that process. But, again, I have taken questions. I can take two questions, 100 questions, I have answered your questions, as -- almost every day on this issue. And, again, anything else that you may have, anything that's related to the review, I would refer to the Department of Justice.

QUESTION: One last question, because I know you have got to move on here.

But the president campaigned on the argument that he would restore competence. We know that he's in the process of deciding whether to officially announce he's running for reelection. Does this episode undercut that argument that he would restore competence?

Because here we have in the headlines that he is now under investigation by the special counsel. JEAN-PIERRE: He has restored independence in the Department of Justice. That's what we're doing here.

When we're saying we're going to refer you to the Department of Justice, that is restoring independence as it relates to issues like this. And that is important to the president. And it's been consistent. What I am saying about investigations has been consistent for the last two years. You have heard me over and over.

Again, when it comes to a legal issue or matter like this, we have always referred to the Department of Justice. So there's nothing here -- different here. We have said we wanted to restore the independence of the Department of Justice. That is what you're seeing. And, again, we -- this has been done in a transparent way when it relates to how this was dealt with, with the Department of Justice and the Archives.

The president takes this very, very seriously. Any other questions that you may have about this particular issue, about the review, I would refer you to Department of Justice. You guys have been in touch with my colleagues at the White House Counsel's Office, and I would suggest that you continue to reach out.

Go ahead, Stephen (ph).

QUESTION: Thanks.

I just want to push on that point about the idea of disclosures when it's appropriate. You describe a process, but it sort of feels like a strategy, a communications strategy to protect the president from political damage.

Was it the hope and expectation here that this would have remained a private matter and not have been subject to public disclosure?

JEAN-PIERRE: Look, Stephen, that's your version of the case.

I have been very clear here. And I have answered that question multiple times in different versions, right, in the last couple of days. Look, want to be very clear. There's a process here. We are going to respect the process. This is all part of the Department of Justice process, and we are cooperating fully.

We are cooperating fully in this process. And, again, the president believes that the Justice Department and its independence needs -- needed to be restored. That's what you have seen under this administration the last two years. And I want to be consistent in what I'm saying. I want to be prudent in what I'm saying when I say that we are going to defer any questions related to this to the Department of Justice.

And any other items that you have, if you want to talk to the Department of Justice, you're free to talk to the White House Counsel Office. I know you guys have been in touch with my colleagues there.

QUESTION: We have done both. But let me just ask you, because, oftentimes, in the careers of White House press secretaries, there becomes -- there comes a time where they are asked what they knew and when they knew it. Were you or any member of your staff involved in the crafting of the strategy as to when this disclosure should be made in advance of CBS News breaking the story on Monday evening?

JEAN-PIERRE: No.

Go ahead. Did you have a question?

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

A complete (AUDIO GAP) questions for you. Do you have a position on how high the debt limit should be raised?

JEAN-PIERRE: I don't have a position that.

What I can say more broadly...

(CROSSTALK)

JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, what I'm saying is that, more broadly speaking, not going to get into the specifics of that, what I can say is that we believe, when it comes to the debt limit, it has been done in a bipartisan way over the years and decades.

And it should be done in a bipartisan way. And it should be done without conditions. That is important here. And so we're going to continue to encourage and ask Congress to take action.

And that's where we're going to leave it at this time. We're not going to do any negotiations or -- and it should begin -- again done without conditions.

QUESTION: Would you make calls to Congress and all? Is this a Leg Affairs thing, or is it entirely up to Congress...

(CROSSTALK)

JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, I have said that the Leg -- our Office of Leg Affairs has been in touch with the new Congress to make sure that they know who to reach out, the appropriate people.