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Deposition Transcripts · Segments · #9775
id
9775
deposition id
15
segment index
15
speaker
Page 16
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A Thank you. Q What were your primary responsibilities when you were the White House Counsel? A You know, there's a -- the very first White House Counsel was appointed by then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And he was asked -- this is -- I don't know if this is apocryphal, but this is the story. He was asked by a member of the media what this White House Counsel was going to do, and he said, "Legal stuff." And that, I think, is still a pretty apt description of the job. As White House Counsel, there are a number of responsibilities that I think are very particularized to the role. You are responsible for judicial nominations, making recommendations to the President for judicial nominations and shepherding those, along with the Office of Legislative Affairs, through the Senate confirmation process. You are -- at least when I was working for President Obama, I had responsibility for making clemency recommendations to the President, advising on legality of matters relating to domestic policy, national security, congressional oversight. It's been quite a few years since I've been up here with the House Oversight Committee. I've typically always been a lawyer, so this is my first go-around as a witness and not being a lawyer here. But that was a significant part of my responsibility -- responding to Congress and liaising with the general counsels of the other agencies. So it's a very broad portfolio. Q Thank you. Mr. Emmer. We've had another member join. Can he please announce himself for the record? Mr. Walkinshaw. James Walkinshaw, Virginia's 11th District. Ms. Stansbury. Good morning. Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico's First Congressional District. Mr. Grant. Thank you.