Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, faced a grilling from multiple senators about past claims of election fraud during a tense confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
Clayton is aiming to be the permanent replacement for Tulsi Gabbard, who made examining election fraud a key part of her tenure at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. During the two-hour confirmation hearing Wednesday morning, Clayton was at times unable to say anything in response to questions about the 2020 election from Democrats.
When Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) pressed Clayton on election fraud, beginning with a question about who won the 2020 election, Trump’s pick to lead the ODNI refused to answer, referring back to previous responses he gave to senators who asked similar questions. Clayton had previously answered by noting that Joe Biden was certified as the winner through the Electoral College process, a response that did not satisfy several of the Democrats on the panel.
“You’re here asking for the support of senators to lead America’s intelligence community. We have established that you have an obligation to be honest and forthright with this committee and with the American public, but you refuse to answer a simple matter of fact about the 2020 election. Is that right?” Ossoff asked Clayton, who responded that the characterization was incorrect.
“Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president’s delusions?” Ossoff asked. “We know, you know, everybody in this room knows the truthful answer to that question. Why can you not give it?”
Clayton also told Ossoff he was unaware of Gabbard’s intervention in a criminal investigation into election activities in Fulton County, Georgia.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who serves as the vice chairman of the committee, pressed Clayton about not having an answer to questions about the Fulton County investigation, which Democrats have roundly criticized since Gabbard was present during a law enforcement raid there earlier this year. Clayton responded that “it just wasn’t something that was on my mind before the preparation for this hearing.” Warner appeared perplexed by his answer.
The criticism of Clayton’s preparation came even after his confirmation hearing was delayed from its originally scheduled mid-June date, after Trump directed Clayton not to appear at the hearing. Clayton was asked about the postponement of the hearing by Sen. Angus King (I-ME), and the ODNI pick said he would not discuss private conversations surrounding what he was told about the delay.
Trump publicly said he canceled Clayton’s June hearing to pressure the Senate into voting for Jamie McDonald to become the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Clayton currently serves in that role, and his elevation to the ODNI would create a vacancy at the key prosecutor’s office.
King centered most of his questioning of Clayton on election matters, including by asking about the basis for Clayton’s recent claims that the country is doing an “absolutely terrible job on election integrity.”
King, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, hammered Clayton on what he meant by those comments and if he had any evidence to back up claims of election fraud. Clayton responded by mentioning that the audit trail for elections “is not the kind of audit trail that you would expect from something that is this important.”
“I would love for the American people to have incredible confidence in the integrity of our elections,” Clayton said in response to the barrage of questions from King.
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The Republicans on the Senate panel kept their questions focused on Clayton’s views about adjusting the size of the intelligence community, offering less combative questions than their Democratic counterparts, and most appeared likely to support Clayton’s confirmation.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on advancing Clayton’s nomination to the full chamber next week.