Trump’s pick for intelligence head emphasizes security experience as Democrats press on elections

WASHINGTON —

President Donald Trump’s pick to head the nation’s intelligence agencies is emphasizing his experience in government and national security issues as he testifies before the Senate on Wednesday, distinguishing himself from the interim director who has drawn criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, did not mention Trump’s interim appointee for the intelligence post, Bill Pulte. But he worked to assure senators that he is prepared for the post as they work to replace Pulte, a former housing official with no known intelligence experience and who used his previous administration perch to target perceived adversaries of the president.

“I saw firsthand how a strong national security apparatus depends on decisive judgment, discipline, integrity, and effective communication and cooperation across different branches of the government,” Clayton said in his opening statement. “If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, I will commit to upholding these principles every day.”

Clayton’s nomination hearing was first scheduled for June as Republicans rushed to confirm him and prevent Pulte’s appointment to temporarily replace outgoing intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard. But Trump delayed Clayton’s confirmation just hours before his hearing was scheduled to begin, pushing back the process and allowing Pulte to take office.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., expressed frustration last month when the hearing was delayed. He said in his opening statement Wednesday that Clayton has a reputation for operating with “morality, decency and integrity” in his previous positions and that he hopes his nomination will win bipartisan support.

Democrats grill Clayton on his role in elections

While Clayton has received some bipartisan praise, Democrats aggressively questioned him on how he would approach the issue of election interference ahead of November’s midterm elections. They repeatedly asked if former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election that Trump has falsely claimed was stolen.

Like many of Trump’s other nominees, Clayton answered that Biden’s election was certified. But he would not say that Biden won.

“Saying Joe Biden was certified is not an answer,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine.

Democrats also asked Clayton about Trump’s announcement that he will deliver a primetime address on Thursday with a focus on elections, after the president suggested he could revisit long-debunked conspiracy theories about his 2020 defeat.

Clayton said he had has no involvement with that speech.

Some Democrats praise Clayton, but bipartisan support is uncertain

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the panel’s top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in June that he has “known and respected Jay Clayton for many years and believe he is a capable public servant.”

But he has stopped short of saying he would vote for him, and he said to Clayton at the hearing that the intelligence post is “a very different job than any that you have held.”

Warner said that the Trump administration has attempted to politicize the intelligence community, particularly in the area of election interference. “I hope that, should you be confirmed, you will make it clear that this kind of politicization has no place in the intelligence community,” Warner said.

Most Democrats are expected to vote against his nomination. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Tuesday that he expects to oppose Clayton, but he and other Democrats may not stand in the way if majority Republicans want to try and speed up his confirmation so that he can replace Pulte.

“I’m not going to vote for him,” Blumenthal said. “But I wouldn’t object to an accelerated vote.”

As US attorney in Manhattan, Clayton oversees vast portfolio

Clayton is currently the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the most prestigious of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices. His cases have ranged from terrorism and espionage cases to security fraud and public corruption.

Democrats pressed Clayton on subpoenas of four New York Times journalists after they reported on security concerns involving the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called the subpoenas “an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations and have a chilling effect on the work of journalists across the country.”

Clayton said he was not able to discuss the details of the subpoenas and declined to elaborate on whether he spoke to the White House before they were issued. He said he is “confident in procedures we have in place to protect freedom of press.”

Under Clayton, the office also facilitated the unsealing of thousands of pages of court records from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — documents that were made public as part of the Justice Department’s release of records related to the late sex offender and his longtime confidant.

Clayton has also overseen the prosecution of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, on drug trafficking charges.

Confirmation vote could unlock renewal of surveillance authority

Clayton’s confirmation could potentially clear the way for bipartisan legislation to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which stalled last month when Democrats had said they would not provide the necessary votes to pass the bill unless Pulte’s temporary appointment was withdrawn.

The law, which aims to prevent terrorist attacks by monitoring the communications of targeted foreigners located outside the United States, expired in June.

Even if Democrats relent, though, it is unclear if Trump would sign it. He said in his June social media post delaying Clayton’s nomination that he would not sign the FISA renewal without his legislation to require proof of citizenship for all voters. That bill does not have enough support to pass the Senate.

Clearing Clayton’s nomination “would be a good first step” in moving the FISA renewal, said South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the intelligence panel.

Rounds said that Republicans hope to move Clayton’s nomination quickly through the process, if Democrats don’t object.

“We’re looking forward to getting him into that position as quickly as possible,” he said.