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Clayton’s DNI hearing
Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, faced repeated questions from Democrats during his Senate Select Committee on Intelligence confirmation hearing on Wednesday about whether Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
“"I'm not an election denier," Clayton said.”
Clayton said, "I'm not an election denier," and told senators that "Joe Biden was certified as the president of the United States," while refusing to say outright that Biden won legitimately.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the committee, pressed Clayton on whether he denied that Biden won the 2020 election, and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff later said Clayton wasn't being "honest or forthright" about Biden's 2020 election victory.
The hearing also came as Democrats and Republicans questioned Clayton about his role in connection with Trump's primetime address on Thursday, which ABC News said was based on information he recently received from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence related to the 2020 election.
Clayton said he is "not involved in that," affirming that doing so would violate that understanding that he would take no actions that would presume his confirmation as DNI.
Subpoenas and First Amendment
Clayton was also grilled about subpoenas he issued to journalists at the New York Times last week after the news outlet reported on security concerns involving Trump's new Qatari-donated Air Force One.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden questioned Clayton about when he was directed to issue the subpoenas and who asked him to do so, and Clayton responded that the subpoenas are in connection with an "ongoing national security investigation" and that he respects the First Amendment and the role of the press.
Clayton said, "Those subpoenas are in connection with an ongoing national security investigation," and later added that he consulted with career prosecutors in his office before making the decision to issue the subpoeanas.
In a separate exchange, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said the committee was "deeply concerned" with how the process played out, saying it "doesn't sound like the proper independent legal process" for issuance of a subpoena.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said in a statement that "reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are," as the hearing continued.
What’s at stake next
The confirmation process for Clayton, a cabinet-level role overseeing the 18-agency U.S. intelligence community, is expected to be voted on next week, with the full Senate weighing in if the committee advances his nomination.
“Trump will deliver a national address on Thursday night”
NBC News and other outlets framed the hearing around Clayton’s refusal to directly acknowledge that Biden won the 2020 election, while Al Jazeera reported that he repeatedly refused to say Biden won even as he acknowledged Biden had been "certified" as the victor.
Al Jazeera said Trump’s nominee faced renewed scrutiny over Trump’s false claims about US election integrity, and it described critics’ concern that Trump could use the federal government to advance that narrative.
Reuters reported that Trump will deliver a national address on Thursday night about newly declassified intelligence on U.S. elections and what the White House calls voting machine vulnerabilities, and it said Clayton told lawmakers he was "not involved in preparations for Trump’s speech."
Reuters also reported that lawmakers questioned whether Clayton would politicize intelligence by Gabbard and Pulte, with Sen. Mark Warner saying he "just don't understand how Mr. Pulte" could decide what is appropriate or not appropriate to declassify given he had been in the job for only three weeks.
