Sen. Kelly questions spy chief pick’s willingness to stand up to Trump

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mark Kelly confronted would-be spy chief Jay Clayton at his confirmation hearing Wednesday over his refusal to directly state that President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

If the nominee for director of national intelligence isn’t even willing, courageous or independent enough to do that, Kelly said, he’s unlikely to stand firm if Trump ever demands that he shade intelligence to serve a political agenda.

“If you can’t disagree with him when he’s not in the room, are you going to be able to disagree with him when you’re sitting across from him in the Oval Office or the Situation Room?” Kelly said.

The Arizona senator was one of multiple Democrats who pressed Clayton, who already holds a powerful post as U.S. attorney in Manhattan, about Trump’s refusal to concede in 2020 and his ongoing, unsubstantiated election denial.

Clayton acknowledged that Congress certified the election for Democrat Joe Biden, but stopped short of saying Biden won.

“Isn’t it humiliating to be unable to answer the question, to have to engage in the president’s delusions?” Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, told Clayton at one point.

Kelly called the nominee’s stance evasive, and said the DNI needs to be far more direct about what is and isn’t reality.

“This job is different. It’s not about softening the edges when the truth is unpleasant,” he said. “It’s about delivering information and making sure the president understands that information. People risk their lives to get that information.”

Democrats also pressed Clayton about subpoenas he authorized to force New York Times journalists to testify about their reporting on security shortcomings with the new Air Force One, a plane gifted by Qatar.

Ossoff repeatedly asked him if Biden won the 2020 election.

“I’m not going to engage in the theater,” Clayton said.

Ossoff also asked Clayton about Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned May 22 as DNI, citing her husband’s battle with cancer, joining an FBI raid of a Fulton County election office in January.

The CIA and the other 16 intelligence agencies that report to the DNI have no authority over how elections are conducted. Under the federal system, states and local governments administer elections.

Clayton told Ossoff he “had not thought about” the incident until the senator discussed it with him when they met ahead of the confirmation hearing.

Ossoff was incredulous at Clayton’s assertion he wasn’t even aware that Gabbard had been present at the raid; she testified March 18 to the committee that she was there at Trump’s direction to observe the FBI’s actions.

At that hearing, Gabbard sidestepped questions about whether any credible evidence of foreign interference has been uncovered in the election probe.

“Your testimony lacks credibility,” Ossoff told Clayton. “You’re being evasive.”

Clayton chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission during the first Trump term, and he repeatedly linked economic and national security during the hearing, as when Kelly asked about his views on Russia and its ongoing war with Ukraine.

“The most formidable threat actors are the most well-funded,” Clayton said, offering assurance that he would be “extremely helpful” on economic strategies related to U.S. adversaries.

One Republican, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, sought an assurance that Clayton would inform the committee if the president suspended intelligence sharing with Ukraine – reflecting concern within the GOP about Trump’s wavering support for that country.

Trump loyalist Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has served as acting DNI since June 19, to the dismay of senators in both parties.

Pulte has no intelligence background. And he has used his housing post to push for criminal investigations into Trump critics, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Sen. Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

The committee was set to approve Clayton last month in a fast-track process aimed at ensuring Pulte was never confirmed.

Trump abruptly cancelled the confirmation hearing to pressure the Senate – unsuccessfully, so far – to approve the controversial SAVE America Act. That bill would require voters to prove citizenship when they register and to show a photo ID at the polls.

Trump will address the nation Thursday night about election security and voting machines, and has hinted that he will provide evidence of foreign interference that so far has not been shared publicly. Clayton said he is not involved in preparing the speech.

After the hearing, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, said he was satisfied with the answers to his own questions but “very disappointed” at how Clayton avoided questions about the 2020 election.

“We’re not going to get the level of sharing we used to have with this kind of behavior,” Warner said.

On the subpoenas delivered to the homes of New York Times reporters, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, asked Clayton if anyone in Washington had directed him to take that step. Clayton said the office he leads as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York followed protocol and consulted with the Department of Justice.

Republicans discussed the size of the Office of the DNI.

Chairman Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas called the office “bloated,” though Gabbard cut nearly half the ODNI staff and Pulte has fired dozens more. Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, asked Clayton if Trump had directed him to dismantle the office. Clayton said all the president had asked of him was to do a good job.

But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she was “deeply disturbed” by Trump’s push to downsize or even terminate the office, which Congress created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to address a lack of coordination between spy agencies.

“If we didn’t have this role, we would have to invent it,” Collins said.

The committee is expected to vote on Clayton’s nomination early next week. Republicans control the panel 9 to 8 and also hold a slim majority in the Senate.