but i have to tell you, i'm with the president a lot, he's never asked me to do anything that i considered remotely improper. >> when you say you're not going to talk about that conversation, you're not asserting executive privilege, are you? >> no, senator. i believe -- i think you will agree, we'll talk about foreign policy issues -- >> this has a connotation of foreign policy because this is about russia. and so at end of the day, understanding how you responded, what you will do as we're looking at mandatory sanctions that the administration has yet to impose, looking at how we're going to deal with a russia that not only sought to affect our last elections, but is doing so even as we speak both here and at home and across the world, those are substantive questions. so it is not for me just simply a question of, you know, interest. it is a question of understanding what you're asked, how you responded, and what you did. >> so you talked about the important policy issues.