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Hillary for America and the Democratic National Committee - Paid [Peter Fritsch & Glenn Simpson. - Fusion GPS] Thru [Marc Elias - Perkins Coie] for = Dirty Russia Dossier.
[Tom Perez & Jessica O'connell of DNC] - Named in testimony.
[Marc Elias] - Testimony questing by: Trey Gowdy
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(pgs 23 - 25)
MR. GOWDY: But it doesn't get much bigger than Presidential. And you hired a firm you'd never hired before, based on a meeting where they said they have quote, "research." And we've defined research as bankruptcies and court filings that you could have hired a law clerk to go find.
MR. ELIAS: So as I said, it was based on their reputation in the community, recommendations, and -
MR. GOWDY: Recommendations from whom?
MR. ELIAS: One of my partners had recommended them to me as a firm that had done good work in his experience and that they had a good reputation.
MR. GOWDY: All right. So I think we're up to $60,000. What is the total amount of money that Perkins Coie paid Fusion GPS?
MR. ELIAS: I know it's in the letter we I don't remember the
MR. GOWDY: lwon't hold you to it. Just give me a ballpark. More than $60,000?
MR. ELIAS: I think it was well, it was l'm sorry, $60,000 a month. MR. GOWDY: $60,000 a month.
MR. ELIAS: I'm sorry, yes. lt was 30 and 30 per month.
MR. GOWDY: So $60,000 a month, What was the duration of - MR. ELIAS: And then plus expenses.
MR. GOWDY: What was the duration of that agreement or could either party -
MR. ELIAS: lt was it was - it was from and you said you're not going to hold it to me : hold me to it.
MR. GOWDY: I'm not looking for any more investigations to start than we already have.
MR. ELIAS: lt was some time in the spring.
MR. GOWDY: OkaY.
MR. ELIAS: I want to say maybe April, but that could be off a month one
way or the other. And it ended in - at the end of October.
MR. GOWDY: So May, June, July, August, September, October'
MR. ELIAS: I think April, I think April. I don't know, maybe.
MR. GOWDY: All right. so 7 months times $60,000. l'll let you help me
with the math there.
MR. ELIAS: I went to law school.
MR. GOWDY: $400,000 and something, Himes, is that close? MR. HIMES: lt's close.
MR. GOWDY: Alt right. So we're not quite close to the million. MR. ELIAS: Right.
MR. GOWDY: Where is the other half of it, those expenses?
MR. ELIAS: Yes.
MR. GOWDY: And did you get a detailed summary? Do they fill out billing sheets like lawyers do where they say 0.7 hours spent opening a letter?
MR. ELIAS: Fortunately for the rest of the world, nobody fills out time sheets like lawyers do.
MR. GOWDY: What were those expenses they incurred?
MR. ELIAS: So the expenses were and, again, by category if I had to guess, but it's an educated guess, I would bet that the largest expenses Were probably copying and court expenses, you know, getting copies of transcripts, getting copies of files. Getting, like - getting a complete case file for a major piece of complex litigation, the copying cost to the courthouse could be $10,000, $20,000.
MR. GOWDY: Did they provide monthly updates to you on what they were
finding?
MR. ELIAS: Yes. More than monthly.
MR. GOWDY: ln writing or orally or both.
MR. ELIAS: Typically orally. Typically it was orally, more often than
monthly, though.
MR. GOWDY: When did you first hear the name Christopher Steele? MR. ELIAS: When did I first hear the name Christopher Steele? To the
best of my recollection, I first heard the name Christopher Steele in July.
MR. GOWDY: From whom?
MS. RUEMMLER: You can answer that.
MR. ELIAS: lt would have either been Peter or Glenn. I would guess
Peter.
MR. GOWDY: What was the nature of what you were told?
MS. RUEMMLER: As stated, that question calls for information that's
protected by applicable privileges and I would instruct the witness not to answer. MR. GOWDY: And this is where I'm trying to figure it out. You're a law
firm that hired nonlawyers to do work for you. These nonlawyers are reporting back to you. You're the client, you're not the lawyer.
So will you waive attorney-client privilege and tell me what your client said to you?
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https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG00/CPRT-116-IG00-D041.pdf