周三，在美国参议院情报特别委员会举行的提名听证会上，特朗普提名的国家情报总监人选杰伊・克莱顿多次遭到民主党议员追问：乔・拜登是否赢得 2020 年总统大选。克莱顿仅承认拜登经过法定认证就任总统，却回避表态拜登胜选具备合法性。
委员会首席民主党参议员马克・沃纳向克莱顿提问，询问他是否否认拜登赢得 2020 年大选。
克莱顿回应：“我不是否认选举结果者。乔・拜登经法定程序认证，成为美国总统。”
随后，独立参议员安格斯・金直接向克莱顿发问：“谁赢得了 2020 年大选?”
克莱顿多次含糊其辞，始终不肯直白承认拜登获胜，只是反复强调拜登完成法定认证流程。
他表示：“整个法定流程走完，乔・拜登最终成为美国总统。”
金随即回应：“只说拜登获得认证，算不上答案。”
民主党参议员乔恩・奥斯索夫之后批评，克莱顿在谈及拜登 2020 大选胜选一事时，回答缺乏坦诚。
奥斯索夫指出：“面对‘谁赢得总统大选’这样基础的问题，你拒绝正面作答，却谋求执掌全美情报体系。连这个问题都无法如实回答，还要迎合总统不切实际的想法，难道不尴尬吗?真相我们心知肚明，你清楚，这间会议室所有人都清楚，你为什么不肯说出来?”
两党参议员同时询问克莱顿，他是否参与特朗普定于周四黄金时段发表的讲话。特朗普称这场演说将公布 “重大消息”，议题涉及 “自由公正选举”。知情人士向美国广播公司透露，这场讲话的依据，是总统近期从国家情报总监办公室获取的与 2020 年大选相关情报。
克莱顿表示自己并未参与相关筹备工作。他称，如果参与此事，等同于预设自己提名获得通过，违背相关准则。
克莱顿同时表态，现行选举体系仍有优化空间，愿意与委员会协作推进相关改革。 记者传票相关质询
听证会上，议员还围绕克莱顿上周向《纽约时报》多名记者签发传票一事展开追问。此前这家媒体刊发报道，披露卡塔尔捐赠给特朗普的新款 “空军一号” 专机存在安全隐患。
民主党参议员罗恩・怀登质询时任纽约南区联邦检察官的克莱顿，是谁下令签发传票、何时接到相关指令。
克莱顿回应，传票关联一项 “正在推进的国家安全调查”，并重申他尊重美国宪法第一修正案与新闻媒体职能，但没有正面回答怀登的问题。
“这些传票服务于仍在进行的国家安全调查。我愿意与您以及委员会沟通我们对第一修正案的立场，在所有案件中，我们都会尽最大努力避免干预新闻媒体正常运作。” 克莱顿说。
克莱顿之后补充，做出签发传票决定前，他咨询过检察办公室资深职业检察官，确信整个流程遵守了保护第一修正案、保障记者权益的相关规定。
民主党参议员柯尔斯滕・吉利布兰德表示，委员会对此事深感忧虑，整个流程 “看起来并不符合我们预期中独立、规范的法定流程”。
克莱顿称理解议员的顾虑，但表示：“我想说明，我认可当前采取的举措，也对后续推进方向充满信心。”
美国司法部一名女发言人在周六发布声明称：“记者并非调查目标，调查对象是泄露涉密信息的人员。”
在出任纽约南区联邦检察官之前，克莱顿曾担任美国证券交易委员会主席。
除任职联邦检察官期间负责的国家安全案件之外，克莱顿缺乏情报搜集与国家安全领域相关从业经验。他职业生涯大部分时间担任企业律师，直到去年出任联邦检察官前，几乎没有处理刑事案件的相关经历。
克莱顿将接替代理国家情报总监比尔・普尔特履职。普尔特是特朗普的忠实支持者，同时兼任联邦住房金融局局长。本次听证会举行数周前，特朗普临时取消了原定安排的提名听证会。
被问及听证会延期缘由时，克莱顿表示 “不愿谈论私下沟通细节”。
普尔特自 6 月 19 日起担任代理国家情报总监。前国家情报总监图尔西・加巴德 5 月宣布计划辞职，理由是丈夫确诊癌症，希望退出公职照料家人。加巴德最终于 6 月 18 日卸任，比原定时间提前数日。
参议院情报委员会预计将于下周某个时间，就克莱顿出任下一任国家情报总监的提名进行投票。
'I'm not an election denier': Clayton, Trump's DNI pick, faces tense questions on 2020 election
Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump's pick to serve as director of national intelligence, faced repeated questions from Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday about whether Joe Biden won the 2020 election -- with Clayton saying Biden was certified as president, but stopped short of saying he won legitimately.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the committee, asked whether Clayton denied that Biden won the 2020 election.
"I'm not an election denier," Clayton said. "Joe Biden was certified as the president of the United States.
Independent Sen. Angus King later asked Clayton pointedly: "Who won the 2020 election?"
Clayton danced around the answer multiple times -- refusing to say outright that Biden won, while reiterating that he believes Biden was certified.
"He went through our processes, and Joe Biden became the president of the United States," Clayton said.
King responded that "saying Joe Biden was certified is not an answer."
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff later said Clayton wasn't being "honest or forthright" in his responses about Biden's 2020 election victory.
"You refuse to answer a basic question about who won a presidential election. But you ask to lead America's intelligence community," Ossoff said. "Isn't it humiliating to be unable to answer this question? To have to indulge the president's delusions? We know, you know, everybody in this room knows the truthful answer to the question. Why can you not give it?"
Both Republicans and Democrats asked Clayton if he were involved in any way with Trump's primetime address on Thursday that the president said will be a "very big announcement" that will touch on "free and fair elections." The announcement is based on information he recently received from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence related to the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.
Clayton said he is "not involved in that," affirming that doing so would violate that understanding that he would take no actions that would presume his confirmation as DNI.
Clayton did say that he thought there was room to improve elections and that he would like to work with the committee to do that.
Questions about subpoenas to journalists
Clayton also faced questions about the subpoenas he issued to several journalists at the New York Times last week after the news outlet reported onsecurity concerns involving Trump's new Qatari-donated Air Force One.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden questioned Clayton about the subpoenas he issued -- as U.S. attorney in Manhattan -- to the journalists, asking when he was directed to issue the subpoenas and who asked him to do so.
Clayton responded that the subpoenas are in connection with an "ongoing national security investigation" and reiterated that he respects the First Amendment and the role of the press. But he did not directly answer Wyden's question.
"Those subpoenas are in connection with an ongoing national security investigation. I'm happy to talk to you and this committee about our approach to the First Amendment and our efforts in all cases to limit to the greatest extent possible, any intrusion into the operation of the free press," Clayton said.
Clayton later added that he consulted with career prosecutors in his office before making the decision to issue the subpoeanas. He added that he is confident that the procedures in place to protect the First Amendment and journalists were followed.
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said the committee was "deeply concerned" with how the process played out, that it "doesn't sound like the proper independent legal process that we would normally expect for issuance of a subpoena."
Clayton said that while he understood her concerns, "I want to tell you, I am comfortable with where we are, and I'm comfortable with how we are proceeding from here."
In a statement on Saturday, a Justice Department spokeswoman said that "reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are."
Clayton, prior to his role as the U.S. attorney, was also the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Apart from the national security cases he oversaw while serving as U.S. attorney, Clayton also lacks experience in intelligence-gathering and national security matters.
Clayton spent the bulk of his career as a corporate attorney, and prior to his appointment as U.S. attorney last year, lacked meaningful experience in criminal matters.
Clayton will replace the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Trump loyalist Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. Clayton's hearing came weeks after the presidentabruptly canceledhis previously scheduled confirmation hearing.
Asked about why his hearing was postponed, Clayton said he was "not going to get into private conversations."
Pulte has been serving as the acting director since June 19. The former DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, announced her intention to resign from the role in May, citing a desire to step away from public service to support her husband following his cancer diagnosis. Gabbard ultimately left the role on June 18, days earlier than planned.
The committee is expected to vote on Clayton's nomination to be the next DNI some time next week.
