{"id":2630255,"date":"2026-07-15T17:25:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jay-clayton-struggles-with-election-questions-during-confirmation-hearing\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:28:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:28:47","slug":"jay-clayton-struggles-with-election-questions-during-confirmation-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jay-clayton-struggles-with-election-questions-during-confirmation-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Jay Clayton struggles with election questions during confirmation hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjay-clayton-struggles-with-election-questions-during-confirmation-hearing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2630255&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump\u2019s nominee for director of national intelligence, faced a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tulsi-gabbards-nomination-heads-to-senate-floor-after-clearing-intel-vote-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"......s nomination heads to ... floor after clearing Intel vote - Washington Examiner\">challenging confirmation hearing<\/a> before the Senate intelligence Committee. Senators questioned him on his past claims regarding election fraud and his stance on the 2020 presidential election. Clayton was notably unable to directly answer questions about who won the 2020 election, despite repeated prompts, which drew criticism from Democrats. He refused to comment on an ongoing criminal investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, and on the reasons behind his previous delays in his confirmation hearing, which Trump publicly canceled to influence other judicial appointments. Throughout the session, Clayton maintained that he wanted Americans to trust the electoral process, but he provided limited responses on specific election integrity issues. The Republican members of the committee appeared more supportive and mostly focused their questions on his views about the size of the intelligence community. The committee is expected to vote on his nomination soon, with support likely from GOP members.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jay Clayton, President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> nominee for director of national intelligence, faced a grilling from multiple <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8765\">senators<\/a> about past claims of election fraud during a tense confirmation hearing before the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate-intelligence-committee\/\">Senate Intelligence Committee<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clayton is aiming to be the permanent replacement for Tulsi Gabbard, who made examining election fraud a key part of her tenure at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. During the two-hour confirmation hearing Wednesday morning, Clayton was at times unable to say anything in response to questions about the 2020 election from Democrats.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4649309\/jay-clayton-struggles-election-questions-confirmation-hearing\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump DNI pick Jay Clayton struggles with election questions during confirmation hearing<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4649663\/joy-behar-graham-nordone-dei-hire-south-carolina-senate\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Joy Behar calls Darline Graham Nordone a DEI hire for South Carolina<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4649529\/marjorie-taylor-greene-eulogizes-lindsey-graham-as-murderer\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Marjorie Taylor Greene eulogizes Lindsey Graham as a \u2018murderer\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) pressed Clayton on election fraud, beginning with a question about who won the 2020 election, Trump\u2019s pick to lead the ODNI refused to answer, referring back to previous responses he gave to senators who asked similar questions. Clayton had previously answered by noting that Joe Biden was certified as the winner through the Electoral College process, a response that did not satisfy several of the Democrats on the panel.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re here asking for the support of senators to lead America\u2019s intelligence community. We have established that you have an obligation to be honest and forthright with this committee and with the American public, but you refuse to answer a simple matter of fact about the 2020 election. Is that right?\u201d Ossoff asked Clayton, who responded that the characterization was incorrect.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIsn\u2019t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question, to have to indulge the president\u2019s delusions?\u201d Ossoff asked. \u201cWe know, you know, everybody in this room knows the truthful answer to that question. Why can you not give it?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenAngusKing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SenAngusKing<\/a> (I-ME) &#038; Jay Clayton heated exchange on 2020 Election:<\/p>\n<p>Jay Clayton: &#8220;I think I&#8217;ve answered it many times.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenAngusKing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SenAngusKing<\/a>: &#8220;You have not answered it.&#8221; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NDRjtdse2i\">pic.twitter.com\/NDRjtdse2i<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CSPAN (@cspan) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cspan\/status\/2077431008882729062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clayton also told Ossoff he was unaware of Gabbard\u2019s intervention in a criminal investigation into election activities in Fulton County, Georgia.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who serves as the vice chairman of the committee, pressed Clayton about not having an answer to questions about the Fulton County investigation, which Democrats have roundly criticized since Gabbard was present during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/8-hollywood-celebrities-who-actually-back-the-blue\/\" title=\"8 Hollywood Celebrities Who Actually Back The Blue\">law enforcement raid<\/a> there earlier this year. Clayton responded that \u201cit just wasn\u2019t something that was on my mind before the preparation for this hearing.\u201d Warner appeared perplexed by his answer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The criticism of Clayton\u2019s preparation came even after his confirmation hearing was delayed from its originally scheduled mid-June date, after Trump directed Clayton not to appear at the hearing. Clayton was asked about the postponement of the hearing by Sen. Angus King (I-ME), and the ODNI pick said he would not discuss private conversations surrounding what he was told about the delay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump publicly said <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4611566\/trump-jay-clayton-hearing-fisa-canceling\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4611566\/trump-jay-clayton-hearing-fisa-canceling\/\">he canceled<\/a> Clayton\u2019s June hearing to pressure the Senate into voting for Jamie McDonald to become the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Clayton currently serves in that role, and his elevation to the ODNI would create a vacancy at the key prosecutor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">King centered most of his questioning of Clayton on election matters, including by asking about the basis for Clayton\u2019s recent claims that the country is doing an \u201cabsolutely terrible job on election integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Jay Clayton refuses to answer Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ossoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ossoff<\/a> (D-GA)&#8217;s question on who won the 2020 presidential election: &#8220;Isn&#8217;t it humiliating to be unable to answer this question \u2014 to have to indulge the president&#8217;s delusions?&#8221; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IfdS1JZzsJ\">pic.twitter.com\/IfdS1JZzsJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CSPAN (@cspan) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cspan\/status\/2077445629823914081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">King, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, hammered Clayton on what he meant by those comments and if he had any evidence to back up claims of election fraud. Clayton responded by mentioning that the audit trail for elections \u201cis not the kind of audit trail that you would expect from something that is this important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would love for the American people to have incredible confidence in the integrity of our elections,\u201d Clayton said in response to the barrage of questions from King.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4648627\/todd-blanche-hearing-test-senate-gop-support\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4648627\">TODD BLANCHE HEARING TO TEST GOP SUPPORT AS SENATE WEIGHS TRUMP\u2019S DOJ PICK<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Republicans on the Senate panel kept their questions focused on Clayton\u2019s views about adjusting the size of the intelligence community, offering less combative questions than their Democratic counterparts, and most appeared likely to support Clayton\u2019s confirmation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on advancing Clayton\u2019s nomination to the full chamber next week.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jay Clayton faces tough questions on election fraud at Senate hearing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2630256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26196576875582.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[45014,82773,82772,81308,48508],"class_list":["post-2630255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-confirmation-hearing","tag-cryptocurrency-regulation","tag-election-questions","tag-jay-clayton","tag-senate-hearing"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26196576875582.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2630255"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630259,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630255\/revisions\/2630259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2630255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2630255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2630255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}