Trump Nominee Jay Clayton’s Refusal To Respond Honestly To Senators Is Disqualifying
By Free Press Action Photos: YouTube Screenshots WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence appeared at a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing. Trump nominated Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, after Republicans and Democrats rejected Trump’s decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director. But Clayton comes with his own political and free-speech baggage. Earlier this month, he issued grand jury subpoenas to four journalists at The New York Times for their recent reporting on the security concerns surrounding the new Air Force One, an aircraft Trump accepted as a gift worth $400 million from the government of Qatar.On Monday, Free Press Action joined a coalition of 38 other social-justice, press-freedom and civil-society groups in a letter to Committee members opposing Clayton’s confirmation. “A federal prosecutor who will weaponize the grand jury process against reporters — and their sources — to punish disclosures unwelcome to the president has shown the Senate the precise instinct that is disqualifying in a Director of National Intelligence,” reads the letter, which Demand Progress organized.During Wednesday’s hearing, Clayton claimed that he was committed to speaking truth to power. He pledged that the Trump administration would honor the First Amendment prohibition against government interference with a free press, despite a growing mountain of evidence that this White House seeks to punish any media outlet that angers the president. Clayton also repeatedly refused to acknowledge that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Sen. Tom Cotton said at the start of the hearing that he plans to quickly hold a committee vote on Clayton’s nomination, which could set up a floor vote as soon as next week. Free Press Action Advocacy Director Jenna Ruddock said:“Jay Clayton blatantly ducked and dodged when asked to clarify whether his loyalties lie with President Trump versus the U.S. Constitution. When Trump directed the Department of Justice to target his perceived political foes in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, former Attorney General Bondi chose Clayton to ‘take the lead,’ resulting in the department’s ongoing reluctance to release files documenting Epstein and Trump’s long history together. “Clayton has been stoking the White House’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results and mail-in voting, despite the lack of evidence to support these bogus and dangerous claims. And he defended President Trump’s corrupt $1.8 billion slush fund, which Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Mark Warner warned could be used to launder taxpayer funds for Trump-allied political organizations, campaigns and candidates.“When pressed on these and other potential conflicts, Clayton refused to answer in an honest and forthright manner. The director of national intelligence must exercise independent judgment free from political pressure from the White House. We are living with the serious consequences of unqualified Trump loyalists put in office to blindly pursue Trump’s unconstitutional and corrupt agenda. Adding Clayton to this list would have catastrophic consequences for our nation’s national security and individual civil liberties.”
Black News 
By Free Press Action
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence appeared at a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing.
Trump nominated Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, after Republicans and Democrats rejected Trump’s decision to install Bill Pulte as acting director. But Clayton comes with his own political and free-speech baggage. Earlier this month, he issued grand jury subpoenas to four journalists at The New York Times for their recent reporting on the security concerns surrounding the new Air Force One, an aircraft Trump accepted as a gift worth $400 million from the government of Qatar.
On Monday, Free Press Action joined a coalition of 38 other social-justice, press-freedom and civil-society groups in a letter to Committee members opposing Clayton’s confirmation. “A federal prosecutor who will weaponize the grand jury process against reporters — and their sources — to punish disclosures unwelcome to the president has shown the Senate the precise instinct that is disqualifying in a Director of National Intelligence,” reads the letter, which Demand Progress organized.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Clayton claimed that he was committed to speaking truth to power. He pledged that the Trump administration would honor the First Amendment prohibition against government interference with a free press, despite a growing mountain of evidence that this White House seeks to punish any media outlet that angers the president. Clayton also repeatedly refused to acknowledge that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
Sen. Tom Cotton said at the start of the hearing that he plans to quickly hold a committee vote on Clayton’s nomination, which could set up a floor vote as soon as next week.
Free Press Action Advocacy Director Jenna Ruddock said:
“Jay Clayton blatantly ducked and dodged when asked to clarify whether his loyalties lie with President Trump versus the U.S. Constitution. When Trump directed the Department of Justice to target his perceived political foes in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, former Attorney General Bondi chose Clayton to ‘take the lead,’ resulting in the department’s ongoing reluctance to release files documenting Epstein and Trump’s long history together.
“Clayton has been stoking the White House’s conspiracy theories about the 2020 election results and mail-in voting, despite the lack of evidence to support these bogus and dangerous claims. And he defended President Trump’s corrupt $1.8 billion slush fund, which Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Mark Warner warned could be used to launder taxpayer funds for Trump-allied political organizations, campaigns and candidates.
“When pressed on these and other potential conflicts, Clayton refused to answer in an honest and forthright manner. The director of national intelligence must exercise independent judgment free from political pressure from the White House. We are living with the serious consequences of unqualified Trump loyalists put in office to blindly pursue Trump’s unconstitutional and corrupt agenda. Adding Clayton to this list would have catastrophic consequences for our nation’s national security and individual civil liberties.”
