Senate Intelligence Committee Holds Hearing on Jay Clayton’s Nomination for Director of National Intelligence

Jay Clayton, the nominee for Director of National Intelligence and current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, testified Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. New York Post reported that the hearing carried a sense of urgency from senators of both parties seeking to appoint a permanent spy chief and move past acting director Bill Pulte.

Clayton, who previously served as SEC chairman, argued that the modern intelligence battlefield extends beyond traditional military matters to include financial warfare, supply chains, sanctions, energy markets and artificial intelligence. He pointed to his experience as U.S. attorney, which he said granted him significant national security exposure involving foreign terrorist organizations, counterespionage, money laundering and bribery.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner told Clayton that the DNI position grants access to all the nation's secrets, limited only to the Gang of Eight in Congress, and urged him to treat such information with appropriate respect. Warner also stated he was anxious to install a permanent DNI and described Pulte as one of the least qualified people imaginable for the role due to his complete lack of national security background.

Attorney involved continuous interaction with intelligence community and counterterrorism officials on dozens of national security matters. He added that economic effects of events should factor more heavily into intelligence assessments because markets move immediately and people react to those movements.

The nominee further stated that the price of oil is the most interesting topic today and that understanding energy price dynamics is essential to any intelligence assessment.