Joseph “Jody” Hunt testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing to Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, on March 7. Photo Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Joseph “Jody” Hunt, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Justice Department's Civil Division, spent much of his nomination hearing Wednesday talking about his boss, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Hunt's nomination was announced in September last year. Testifying before lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Hunt was asked repeatedly about his work as Sessions' chief of staff. He served in that position from February last year until October, through several key points in Sessions' turbulent first year on the job.  

Since October 2017, Hunt has been working as a senior adviser in the DOJ's Office of Legal Policy.

Here's what Hunt had to say:

On Comey: Senators asked Hunt about several events related to the firing of former FBI Director James Comey last May. Sessions testified before Congress last year that Hunt was in the room with him during a February 2017 meeting when Comey asked the attorney general not to leave him alone again with the president.

Hunt confirmed that Wednesday, and added that Comey's chief of staff, James Rybicki, was also present. Rybicki resigned earlier this year. Hunt said Comey did not say exactly what he and the president had discussed in prior one-on-one meetings, and he echoed Sessions' testimony that in response to Comey, the AG discussed the DOJ's policy about contacts with the White House. Comey had said the AG did not respond to his concerns.

Hunt was also asked about Sessions' letter to Trump recommending he fire Comey. Hunt said he was involved in many meetings with Sessions on many topics, including about Comey, but would not go further or answer questions about why he was fired.  

On Mueller: Hunt told lawmakers during the hearing that, like Sessions, he is recused from the investigation led by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, into Russian interference in the 2016 election and ties to the Trump campaign. He said he would stay recused if confirmed.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, also asked who “oversees” and enforces Sessions' recusal. Hunt said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has authority over Mueller.

“No matters reach the fifth floor, which is where the attorney general is, without coming through the fourth floor, which is where the deputy attorney general is,” Hunt said. “And I can tell you that in my time in the Attorney General's Office, nothing with respect to this matter came up to [the] Attorney General's Office.”

On Sessions' almost-resignation: Last summer, when tensions were at a high between Sessions and Trump, press reports said that Sessions drafted a resignation letter. It was also reported that Hunt told then-White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that Sessions had no intention of stepping down. Asked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, if that was true, Hunt declined to answer, saying that communications between himself and the senior White House official could be privileged.

“I was, of course, as [Sessions'] chief of staff, involved in many decisions that he made and was with him for many decision points … and I had many discussions with him on a variety of subjects, but I wouldn't want to disclose any particular advice I gave to him with respect to a communication he may have had with the White House.”

On the DOJ's independence:  Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, asked Hunt about the importance of the DOJ's independence from the executive branch. In recent months, the president has called for the DOJ to investigate his political rivals.

“It's very important,” Hunt said. “As part of the executive branch, it's important that the Department of Justice maintain appropriate independence—that we make our decisions based on what the law is and not based on political influence or political objectives,” Hunt said.

Later, Hirono asked about Trump's routine criticisms of the DOJ, Rosenstein, Sessions and others, and whether Hunt had any similar experiences with other presidents in his 20 years at the DOJ. Hunt said the DOJ is not “immune” from criticism across administrations.

“I can tell you that as a civil servant, we try to block that out and do our jobs professionally,” Hunt said.

Hirono called his answer “tactful.”

On concerns about Criminal Division nominee Brian Benczkowski: Another question related to the delay of the confirmation of another DOJ nominee, Kirkland & Ellis partner Brian Benczkowski, to lead the Criminal Division. Despite having his confirmation hearing months ago, the Senate hasn't confirmed Benczkowski yet.

Whitehouse said Wednesday that was partly because lawmakers were worried about his closeness with Sessions. He said there were concerns that as leader of the Criminal Division, Benczkowski would learn about certain aspects of Mueller's investigation if the special counsel sought permission to take certain actions. Whitehouse said it was possible Benczkowski would share information via a “back channel” of communications with Sessions.

Hunt repeated that he was rescued, so he couldn't comment on the issue specifically. Hunt did say that he expected that Rosenstein would oversee any actions taken by Mueller, not the Criminal Division leader.

On Preet Bharara and Trump: Early last year, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara was fired along with dozens of other Obama-era U.S. attorneys. Bharara said, however, that Trump had personally called him after the election and asked him to stay on. Later, shortly before he was fired, Bharara said one of Trump's assistants asked him to call the president. Bharara consulted with Hunt about whether to call back.

Hirono asked about this discussion, and Hunt said he advised Bharara not to return the president's call.

“[Bharara] didn't feel comfortable calling back to the president without knowing what the subject of the call was about,” Hunt said. “And I agreed with him that if he did not know, and was not comfortable, that he should not return that call.”

Hunt said he did not know why Trump fired Bharara, but noted that all holdover U.S. attorneys were also fired at the same time.