Democrats Withhold Judgment on Clayton’s Nomination To Be Spy Chief, Choosing To Wait for Answers at Confirmation Hearing

Key Democrats are for now withholding judgment on the nomination of federal prosecutor Jay Clayton to be Director of National Intelligence, saying they want to hear how he answers questions at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. If the seemingly inevitable confirmation is delayed, one of President Trump’s top loyalists will take over the DNI’s office on Friday. Mr. Clayton has served for more than a year as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutor’s office that many believe is the most important in the country. Mr. Clayton was nominated by Mr. Trump last week. The Senate Intelligence Committee is set to hold his confirmation hearing on Wednesday afternoon — a breakneck pace for an otherwise lethargic body. Mr. Pulte — a lower-level housing finance bureaucrat — has made a name for himself as a chief proponent of pursuing the president’s enemies. His decision to dig through mortgage records led directly to investigations into Senator Adam Schiff, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Despite Mr. Clayton being nominated, Mr. Trump says he still expects Mr. Pulte to take over the DNI’s office for a short time. He told reporters recently that he expects Mr. Pulte to look into “rigged elections” while serving as America’s interim spy chief. Even though Mr. Pulte’s appointment is set to take place in just about 48 hours, Democrats are not dying to get Mr. Clayton confirmed. “I want to know whether he has the independence and the guts to stand up to Donald Trump if he tries to use intelligence laws in the way that he’s used almost every other law in his effort to go after enemies or adversaries,” Senator Richard Blumenthal tells the New York Sun. “We need to know from Clayton whether he’ll stand up to Trump if he misuses or abuses the law.”Though the confirmation hearing will take place Wednesday, it could take until the end of next week to get Mr. Clayton confirmed — depending on how Democrats choose to handle the situation. In the Senate, Republicans can move the nomination though the committee and on to the Senate floor by Thursday afternoon or evening at the earliest. If Democrats on the committee or on the floor object to an expedited consideration of Mr. Clayton’s nomination, then Mr. Pulte could be the interim DNI until next week. Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Intelligence Committee, refused to tell reporters on Tuesday if he will allow for a swift approval of Mr. Clayton to be DNI. Mr. Wyden has long been a critic of America’s warrantless spying powers used to surveil foreign nationals — FISA Section 702. “We’re going to get into all the important issues,” Mr. Wyden told reporters Wednesday after being asked about Mr. Clayton’s nomination. He seemed to imply that he would not allow the nomination to move quickly, telling reporters that he will ensure that Mr. Clayton is fully “vetted” before his nomination heads to the floor. Senator Tim Kaine, who is not a member of the Intelligence Committee, says he believes Democrats’ concerns are less about Mr. Clayton’s qualifications and more about ensuring that Mr. Pulte will never serve in any kind of intelligence role. “I think [Democrats’] position is, as soon as it’s clear that Pulte will have nothing to do with the national intelligence mission, I think we could move pretty quickly,” Mr. Kaine told the Sun Tuesday. Senator James Lankford, a Republican member of the Intelligence Committee, says he hopes Democrats will get on board with moving Mr. Clayton’s nomination forward as quickly as possible. He has not been terribly enthusiastic about Mr. Pulte’s appointment, telling reporters on multiple occasions that Mr. Pulte should serve in the role for as little time as possible. “Democrats can slow this down as much as they want. They can’t stop it because [Mr. Clayton] will certainly have enough votes. I mean Jay Clayton is a very, very competent leader,” Mr. Lankford said, pointing to Mr. Clayton’s record as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and his past work as chairman of the SEC.

Democrats Withhold Judgment on Clayton’s Nomination To Be Spy Chief, Choosing To Wait for Answers at Confirmation Hearing

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