And so it wasn't so much, you know, a case of, you know, tit for tat as that we didn't really understand what's happening, and it was really bad stuff that was happening, and if the press is going to be writing about all these investigations, we should expose this stuff.
Q And was the purpose or intent of the exposure to potentially affect the outcome of the election?
A It was to expose a sinister plot by Vladimir Putin, a hostile foreign power, to attempt to alter the outcome of an American Presidential election. And that was the goal. You know, and again, I mean, basically our behavior after the election was of the same basic character. At some point, it became about blowing the whistle on this. And I would say that was the point at which it was a lot bigger issue. And as an ex-journalist, I still have a little bit of that in my blood, and I wanted to expose it for the sake of letting people know what's going on.
Q And did you discuss that plan to expose this information with Perkins Coie, the Clinton campaign, or the DNC?
A I am going to decline to answer that.
MR. SCHIFF: Mr. Simpson, I want to ask you a very open-ended question, because a lot of the information has been very helpful, but I am concerned that we may not know the right questions to ask you. So let me ask it in a very general way. You know the parameters of our investigation. We are interested in any contacts between then-candidate Trump, his family, his campaign, and the Russians. We are particularly interested in any of the Russian active measures, any leverage the Russians may exert over the President or his team.
You have itemized a number of things, including Russian money involved in transactions with Trump properties, and suspicious activity potentially between the
UNCLASSIFIED, COMMITTEE SENSITIVE
