and they're a big law firm.
MR. GOWDY: Had you ever worked for them in the past?
MR. SIMPSON: I don't think I can get into the -- essentially, I haven't been released by any clients to get into my work for them.
Generally speaking, we sign confidentiality agreements with all of our clients, which is an essential part of the kind of work we do. And I haven't been released or directed to get into whether I worked for these clients before or what kind of things I did for them.
MR. GOWDY: So I assume you did not sign a confidentiality agreement with the Washington Free Beacon?
MR. SIMPSON: I actually don't know. We --
MR. GOWDY: I'll direct this to your lawyer. This is what I'm trying to avoid, picking and choosing which questions you want to answer.
MR. LEVY: Yes. Just to be clear, I think what he was trying to do in response to your questions on the Washington Free Beacon was talk as a general matter why the company would be hired. I thought he was careful to say he wasn't getting into the actual conversations or communications with the Free Beacon.
So, in that sense, he is trying to be consistent. He has not been released by either client to talk about confidential client communications, but he will tell you about the work and he's here all night for you.
[Discussion off the record.]
MR. SIMPSON: I mean, my answer for the second client would be the same as my answer for the first, which is that I worked for the Wall Street Journal for about 15 years, and I specialized in complex financial investigations, political
UNCLASSIFIED, COMMITTEE SENSITIVE
