Jay Clayton, tapped to become the nation's top intelligence officer, declined during his Senate confirmation hearing to state plainly that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, instead offering the narrower assertion that Biden was "certified" as president.
The US attorney for the Southern District of New York also avoided direct answers about his previous statements on election integrity and whether a White House official sought his help subpoenaing New York Times journalists under the guise of a national security probe.
Clayton's evasions mirror broader concerns about the Trump administration's intelligence leadership. If confirmed, he would assume control of the nation's spy agencies currently run by Bill Pulte, the acting director of national intelligence installed by Trump last month. Pulte's appointment has drawn fire from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, who argue his background as chair of a federal mortgage regulation agency hardly qualifies him to oversee American intelligence operations, and that his explicit loyalty to Trump and eagerness to target the president's perceived enemies poses a genuine threat to institutional independence.
Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee had scheduled Clayton's confirmation hearing for last month, hoping to move him through before Pulte took over. Trump ordered Clayton not to show up that morning, effectively blocking the maneuver and allowing Pulte to assume the acting role.
During his brief tenure, Pulte has already fired several intelligence officials. He is scheduled to appear with Trump for a televised address Thursday night, where the president says he will discuss unspecified foreign interference in American elections.
Clayton's resume for the post is thin. He chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump's first term and spent decades as a Wall Street lawyer before that appointment. He has never worked in any intelligence agency. Yet his track record shows consistent alignment with Trump's worldview, including embrace of the former president's unfounded claims of widespread election fraud.
In a June 8 CNBC appearance discussing California election allegations, Clayton stated that the country was "doing an absolutely terrible job" on election integrity and that voters were justified in questioning the system. He singled out California's mail-voting procedures, which send ballots to all registered voters and allow ballots to arrive after Election Day, as creating "an opportunity for fraud." Trump has repeatedly called elections "rigged" without presenting evidence.
Author James Rodriguez: "Clayton's refusal to acknowledge a basic electoral fact suggests the intelligence community is about to be remade in Trump's image, loyalty trumping expertise and institutional credibility be damned."
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