Trump Scuttles Jay Clayton's DNI Hearing, Blasts GOP for Getting Played on FISA

President Donald Trump blew up Jay Clayton's 

 

Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing early Wednesday morning, saying Republicans got played, handing Democrats a major concession on the acting DNI post before Democrats ever delivered their end of the bargain on FISA reauthorization.

Trump laid the blame squarely on Senate Republicans, who he said rushed Clayton's nomination so fast that Bill Pulte

 

would have been pushed out as Acting Director of National Intelligence before Democrats ever voted on the surveillance law renewal. Democrats, predictably, then said they'd vote against FISA anyway.

In a lengthy post Wednesday morning, Trump didn't mince words:

The Republicans agreed with Dumocrats to remove very fair, and talented, William Pulte, from serving as Acting DNI in return for getting FISA approved by the Dumocrats. However, the Republicans moved so fast with the hearings of the Great Jay Clayton, current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, that Pulte would be gone before the Dumocrats would vote on FISA.

Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA — So, the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke the Deal.

In addition, the newly nominated U.S. Attorney, Jamie McDonald, must be confirmed and blue slipped. Because of the ridiculous views of Republicans on blue slipping (Dumocrats are often willing to nix it), I may not be able to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell Partner, Jamie, approved, and I don't want to take Jay Clayton away from the great job he is doing until Jamie is in place.

Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it. Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap.

Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney.

In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence.

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

President DONALD J. TRUMP

Trump's frustration isn't just aimed at Democrats. It's aimed at his own party. Republicans agreed to sideline Pulte, a loyalist, in exchange for Democratic votes on FISA. Then they rushed Clayton's hearing so fast that Pulte would have been gone before Democrats had to deliver. Democrats saw the opening and walked. Trump says Republicans blinked first and got nothing for it. 

Tangled up in all of this is a second confirmation fight. Trump announced last week that James "Jamie" McDonald would replace Clayton as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most powerful prosecutor's offices in the country. 

McDonald is a former SDNY federal prosecutor and currently a partner at elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. During Trump's first term, he ran enforcement at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, then joined Trump's legal team to handle appeals in the Manhattan business-records case, where a Soros-backed DA's office hit Trump with 34 felony counts over a bookkeeping dispute.

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Read More: Bill Pulte Jumps From Hard-Charging Housing Regulator to Nation's Top Spy Chief

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Trump was direct: He's not moving Clayton out of SDNY until McDonald is confirmed and ready to go. That means both nominations are now frozen.

Clayton's DNI path is on ice until McDonald clears the Senate. Pulte stays on as Acting DNI. And Trump says FISA isn't going anywhere without the SAVE America Act attached to it. Full stop.

What looked like a straightforward confirmation has turned into a full-blown standoff over Senate strategy, FISA, and whether Republican leadership handed Democrats a win they didn't earn. Trump's message to his own party is clear: stop negotiating against yourselves.