Trump says he directed Pulte to ‘declassify whatever you want’
Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte may serve briefly but is expected to have meaningful authority, with President Donald Trump indicating that he could declassify nearly all details during his tenure.Trump emphasized that Pulte was only in the position temporarily and encouraged him to declassify information freely. Trump also nominated Jay clayton as the permanent director, a move met with some congressional concerns over pulte’s limited national security experiance.Trump instructed Clayton, who is the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to delay attending his Senate confirmation hearing until Clayton’s replacement is confirmed, and insisted that the extension of certain surveillance laws not be renewed unless other legislation is passed. Trump predicted Pulte’s stint would last only a month or two,praising both Clayton and Pulte as highly respected figures.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte may be the country’s spy chief for a short time, but he is poised to make an impact, with President Donald Trump telling reporters Pulte could “declassify almost everything.”
“Bill is there just for a fairly short period of time, but while he’s there, I said, ‘You could declassify whatever you want,’” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “I think Bill will declassify.”
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Trump nominated Jay Clayton last month to be permanent director after congressional Republicans expressed concerns about Pulte’s lack of national security experience. Pulte is the Federal Housing Finance Agency director and chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Trump then told Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, not to attend his Senate confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee until the chamber confirms Clayton’s replacement, adding he would not sign an extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless Congress also passed the SAVE America Act.
Senators wanted to expedite Clayton’s confirmation to minimize the time Pulte is in the role, with both the FISA extension and SAVE America Act having not enough support to clear Congress.
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Trump predicted Pulte would only be in the post “maybe a month, or two months, or something” as Clayton “is going through the process.”
“Jay Clayton, highly respected, and so is Bill Pulte,” he said. “Jay is going through the process. He’s got a hearing in two weeks. Highly respected man, Jay Clayton.”
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