1 UNCLASSIFIED 1 2 3 PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE, 4 joint with the 5 COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND REFORM 6 and the 7 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 8 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 9 wAsHrNGToN, D.C. 10 11 72 13 DEPOSITION OF: JENNIFER WILLIAMS 74 15 76 t7 18 Thunsday, Novemben 7, 2@19 19 Washington, D.C. 20 2t The deposition in the above matter was held in Room HVC-304, 22 Capitol Visiton Centen, commencing at 9:35 a.m. 23 Present: Repnesentatives Schiff, Swalwell, Heck, Maloney, and 24 Demings. 25 AIso Pnesent: Raskin, Nonton, Penny, Jordan, and Meadows. UNCLASSIFIED 2 UNCLASSIFIED 1 2 Appeanances: 3 4 5 Fon the PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE: 6 7 8 9 10 11 72 13 74 15 16 L7 18 19 20 2L 22 23 Fon the COMMITTEE 0N OVERSIGHT AND REFORM: 24 25 UNCLASSIFIED 3 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 4 UNCLASSIFIED 1 Fon the COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fon ]ENNIFER WILLIAMS: 9 10 EMILY DAMRAU 1L ]USTIN SHUR 72 CALEB HAYES.DEATS 13 ELIZABETH SAWYER L4 MOLOLAMKEN L5 600 New Hampshine Ave, N.W. 16 Washington, 0. C . 20037 UNCLASSIFIED 5 UNCLASSIFIED 1 THE CHAIRMAN: We'11 come to onden. Good monning, Ms. Wi11iams, 2 and welcome to the House Penmanent Select Committee on Intelligence 3 which, along with the Foneign Affains and Ovensight Committees, is 4 conducting this investigation as pant of the official impeachment 5 inquiny of the House of Repnesentatives. 6 Today's deposition is being conducted as a part of the impeachment 7 inquiry. In light of attempts by the Office of the Vice Pnesident to 8 dinect you not to coopenate with the inquiny, the committee had no 9 choice but to compel youn appeanance today. We thank you for complying 10 with a duly authonized congnessional subpoena, as othen cunnent and 11 fonmen officials fnom acnoss the Fedenal Govennment have done. 72 Ms. Williams curnently senves as the Special Advisen fon Eunope 13 and Russia in the Office of the Vice Pnesident. She has been detailed L4 to this position fnom the State Depantment since April 2OL9. Ms. 15 Williams is a long-senving careen Foneign Senvice Officen, and 16 pneviously held posts at our embassies in the United Kingdom, Lebanon, 77 and lamaica. L8 Ms. Williams, thank you fon youn senvice. We look fonwand to youn 19 testimony today, including your knowledge of and involvement in key 20 policy discussions, meetings, and decisions on Ukraine that nelate 2t dinectly to aneas unden investigation by the committees. This 22 includes developments nelated to the necall of Ambassadon Yovanovitch; 23 the Pnesident's Ju1y 25, 2079, call with Ukrainian President Zelensky; 24 the hold placed on the Pnesident on neanly -- placed by the Pnesident 25 on neanly $400 million of secunity assistance for Uknaine; and the Vice UNCLASSIFIED 6 UNCLASSIFIED 1 Pnesident's meeting and phone call with Pnesident Zelensky in 2 Septemben. We wilt also have questions about the Office of the Vice 3 Pnesident's response to the impeachment inquiry, including the 4 committee's request fon documents, with which the Vice Pnesident has 5 nefused to comply. 5 Finally, to nestate what I and othens have emphasized in oun 7 intenviews, Congness will not tolenate any nepnisal, thneat of 8 nepnisal, or attempt to netaliate against any U.S. Govennment official 9 fon testifying befone Congress, including you on any of your 10 colleagues. It is disturbing that the Office of the Vice Pnesident, 7L in coordination with the White House, has sought to pnohibit a public L2 senvant, such as younself, fnom coopenating with the inquiny and with 13 Congness and have tnied to limit what you can say. This is t4 unacceptable. Thankfully, consummate pnofessionals like you have 15 demonstnated nemankable counage in coming fonwand to testify and telI 16 the tnuth. t7 Befone I tunn to committee counsel to begin the intenview, I 18 invite Ranking Memben Nunes on, in his absence, a minonity memben of 19 the Foneign Affairs on Ovensight Committees to make any opening 20 remanks. 2t MR. IORDAN: Thank you, Mn. Chairman. 22 I just want to welcome Ms. Williams and thank hen fon her senvice 23 to oun countny. 24 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Mr. Goldman. 25 MR. GOLDMAN: Thank you, Mn. Chainman. UNCLASSIF]ED 7 UNCLASSIFIED 1 This is a deposition of Jennifen Williams conducted by the House 2 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence punsuant to the impeachment 3 inquiny announced by the Speaker of the House on Septemben 24th, 2O19, 4 and affinmed by House Resolution 66@ on Octoben 31st, 2O19. 5 Ms. Williams, if you could please now state youn fuII name and 6 spe1l your last name fon the recond. 7 MS. WILLIAvIS: lennifen Williams. And, sorny, spell that as 8 well on 9 MR. GOLDMAN: Common spelling? 10 MS. WILLIAVIS: Common spel1ing, yes. 11 MR. GOLDMAN: Along with othen proceedings in funthenance of the L2 inquiny to date, this deposition is pant of a joint investigation led 13 by the Intelligence Committee, in coondination with the Committees on L4 Foneign Affains and Ovensight and Refonm. 15 In the noom today ane majonity staff and minonity staff fnom all 16 thnee committees. And this will be a staff-Ied deposition. Membens, t7 of counse, fidy ask questions during thein allotted time, as has been 1,8 the case in eveny deposition since the inception of this investigation. 19 My name is Daniel Goldman. I'm the Dinecton of Investigations 20 fon the Intelligence Committee's majonity staff, and I want to thank 27 you, again, fon coming in today. 22 Let me do some bnief intnoductions. To my right hene is Daniel 23 Noble. He's the Senion Investigative Counsel fon the Intelligence 24 Committee's majority staff. Mn. Noble and I will be conducting most 25 of the intenview fon the majonity. UNCLASSIFIED 8 UNCLASSIFIED 7 And now I'lI ask my minonity countenpants to intnoduce 2 themselves. 3 MR. CASTOR: Steve Caston with the Republican staff. 4 5 6 7 8 MR. GoLDMAN: This deposition will be conducted entinely at the 9 unclassified level. Howeven, it is being conducted in HPSCI secune 10 spaces and in the pnesence of staff with appnopriate security 11 cleanances. L2 It is the committee's expectation that neithen questions asked 13 of you, non answens provided by you, will nequire discussion of any L4 information that is cunnently on at any point could be propenly 15 classified unden Executive Onden t3526. You ane neminded that 16 EO-13526 states that, quote, "In no case shall information be L7 classified, continue to be maintained as classified, on fail to be 18 declassifiedr " unquote, fon the punpose of concealing any violations 19 of law on preventing embannassment of any penson on entity. 20 If any of oun questions can only be answened with classified 27 infonmation, please infonm us of that fact befone you answen the 22 question and we can adjust accondingly. 23 Today's deposition is not being taken in executive session but, 24 because of the sensitive and confidential natune of some of the topics 25 and matenials that will be discussed, access to the transcnipt of the UNCLASSIFIED 9 UNCLASSIFIED 1 deposition will be limited to the thnee committees in attendance. 2 Unden the House deposition nules, no Member of Congness non any staff 3 memben can discuss the substance of the testimony that you pnovide 4 today. You and youn attonney will have an oppontunity to neview the 5 tnanscnipt befone it is neleased. 6 Befone we begin, I would like to go over the ground nules fon this 7 deposition. We will be following the House negulations fon 8 depositions which we have previously pnovided to youn counsel. The 9 deposition will pnoceed as follows: The majonity wiII be given one 10 houn to ask questions, then the minonity will be given one houn. 11 Theneaften, we will altennate back and fonth between majonity and L2 minonity in 45-minute nounds until questioning is complete. We will 13 take peniodic bneaks, but if you need a bneak at any time, please let t4 us know. 15 Unden the House deposition nuIes, counseL for othen persons on 16 govennment agencies may not attend the deposition. You ane penmitted L7 to have an attonney pnesent during this deposition and I see that you 18 have brought counsel. 19 At this time, if counsel could please state thein appeanances fon 20 the necond. 2t MR. SHUR: lustin Shun, Emily Damnau, and Ca1eb Hayes-Deats fon 22 Ms. Williams. 23 MR. GOLDMAN: Thene is a stenognaphen taking down everything that 24 is said hene today in onden to make a wnitten recond of the deposition. 25 Fon that necond to be clean, please wait until each question is UNCLASSIFIED 10 UNCLASSIFIED L completed befone you begin youn answen, and we will wait until you 2 finish youn nesponse befone asking you the next question. The 3 stenognaphen cannot necond nonvenbal answens, such as shaking youn 4 head, so it is impontant that you answen each question with an audible 5 venbal answen. 6 We ask that you give complete neplies to questions, based on youn 7 best necollection. If a question is unclean or you ane uncentain in 8 youn nesponse, please let us know. And if you do not know the answen 9 to a question on cannot nememben, simply say so. 10 You may only nefuse to answen a question to pnesenve a pnivilege 11 necognized by the committee.