Trump nominees struggle to avoid saying true things that would upset Trump
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
We'll see you next time.
Okay, there are a lot of situations, to be fair, where sometimes it makes sense to play a little dub.
We've all been there, right? A public job interview though is definitely not one of those situations. But that is exactly what we saw today at confirmation hearings for two of Donald Trump's nominees for very, very important government jobs. There was this guy, Jay Clayton, I just mentioned him. He is Donald Trump's pick to be the permanent replacement for Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence. And while his background may not include stints in national security, which is typically quite an important part of the qualifications, it does include a lot of advanced degrees. like a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, master's in economics from Cambridge. My point being, he's probably not an actual dummy.
And honestly, even if he were a dummy, anyone up for confirmation to be DNI would expect he would be asked about this particular moment. We all remember this particular moment. When Tulsi Gabbard stirred national outrage by showing up at the FBI raid of Fulton County, Georgia's elections office. And she was weirdly lurking behind pillars, too. But when Georgia's senator asked Jay Clayton about that moment, he decided to just play dumb. Are you aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid in Georgia earlier this year?
You discussed that with me yesterday in your office.
Are you aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid earlier this year? You brought it to me, my attention. What is going on here?
What happened at the Jay Clayton and Todd Blanche confirmation hearings?
You've said at the beginning of this you have an obligation to be honest and forthright with the committee. I'm asking a very simple question. Are you aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid earlier this year? Yes or no? Are you aware? I was. You won't answer that question either.
I just said I was made aware of it by you yesterday.
The first time you learned that Director Gabbard was present at that raid was in my office yesterday?
It was the first time that in my recollection I've thought about it recently. Now, was I aware of it before? What?
Are you aware that former Director Graber testified that her presence at the raid was, quote, requested by the president?
I'm not aware of that until now.
If the White House chief of staff or the president asks you to travel somewhere across the United States and oversee the execution of a domestic search warrant on a sensitive election facility, will you do it?
Is that appropriate?
Is that appropriate for the director of national intelligence?
That's a hypothetical.
We all know it's not appropriate. Sir, can I call you Jay? I mean, you know that you were there to testify for your own confirmation hearing to be the DNI, right? You're there of your own accord. Of course it's not appropriate. And it's also not a hypothetical. I mean, it literally happened six months ago and we have the pictures to prove it. Everybody in this country has seen these pictures. We know Trump wants his DNI to act as the chief election conspiracy investigator and hunt for bogus evidence that he won the 2020 election. That's what he wants. He is so obsessed with those election conspiracies that six years later, he's planning on giving a primetime address about it tomorrow night. But Jay Clayton, UPenn law degree graduate, wants to pretend he's just learning about all of this now.
Like he just woke up from a coma, got offered a job, and then accepted it without reading up at all about what his predecessor was up to in the job and not asking any questions about what that job would entail, including a confirmation hearing where you have to answer questions, apparently. And of course, he is just playing dumb here because these are deeply uncomfortable topics to talk about. And I wish that was the only time that Jay Clayton decided to play dumb at his job interview today, but sadly, it was definitely not the only time. Now, before I show you this next clip, I want you to know that the job that Jay Clayton had before all of this was the U.S.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:24
2
What happened at the Jay Clayton and Todd Blanche confirmation hearings?
2:24–9:03
3
How did Jay Clayton handle questions about the Tulsi Gabbard Fulton County raid?
9:03–11:41
4
Why did Jay Clayton refuse to say who won the 2020 election?
11:41–24:03
5
What conflicts arose around Jay Clayton’s prior role as U.S. Attorney?
24:03–37:30
6
Why is Todd Blanche criticized for the IRS settlement and ‘slush fund’?
37:30–43:12
Speakers
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