Trump Cancels Jay Clayton's DNI Confirmation Hearing, Delaying FISA Reauthorization President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced he would cancel the Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, who was nominated to become the director of national intelligence. The Senate Intelligence Committee subsequently canceled the hearing, which had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The move has raised concerns about the potential delay in reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a critical intelligence-gathering authority that expired last week. The president’s decision to cancel the hearing came hours before its scheduled start time, as detailed in a social media post. Trump cited multiple grievances, including his belief that acting DNI Bill Pulte would not be allowed to serve in the role and that Clayton’s successor in the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, had not yet been confirmed. In the post, Trump stated that the hearing would be postponed until McDonald’s nomination was approved, with Pulte remaining as acting director. Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, criticized the move as an “extraordinary display of dysfunction.” Warner suggested that Trump might withdraw Clayton’s nomination despite its bipartisan support, raising questions about whether Clayton’s status had been postponed or withdrawn. “I wonder whether Jay Clayton knows whether he has been postponed or withdrawn,” Warner remarked during a press conference. The delay in Clayton’s confirmation poses a significant risk to the reauthorization of Section 702, which enables warrantless surveillance of communications involving national security threats.#president_donald_trump #mark_warner #senate_intelligence_committee #jay_clayton #section_702
An Old Classmate of Donald Trump Urges Action Against Alleged Election Threats Peter Ticktin, an 80-year-old South Florida lawyer and longtime associate of Donald Trump, is urging the president to address what he describes as a looming threat to the integrity of this year’s midterm elections. Ticktin, who has known Trump since their days at the New York Military Academy in the 1960s, claims there is an “election emergency” unfolding, with foreign interests allegedly attempting to influence the November vote. He told Vanity Fair that he believes these external forces are “putting their thumb on the scale” to undermine the outcome. Ticktin, who previously falsely asserted that Trump won the 2020 election, has a history of representing individuals and groups linked to controversial political activities. He was involved in Trump’s 2022 lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, which alleged she participated in a racketeering scheme to sabotage the 2016 MAGA campaign. Currently, he represents a county clerk convicted of criminal charges for attempting to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden. Ticktin has also previously defended several participants in the January 6 Capitol riot and has faced disciplinary actions, including twice having his law license suspended for conflicts of interest and making unauthorized referral payments. Ticktin claims he first raised concerns about election integrity with Trump over a year ago and has since developed an “outline” for an executive order aimed at intervening in the midterms. The proposed measures include banning certain voting technologies, such as voter machines and mail ballots, though Ticktin stated he was not involved in drafting the full 17-page version of the order.#donald_trump #mark_warner #vanity_fair #jerome_corsi #peter_ticktin
Chuck Schumer criticized a Trump administration briefing on the US war with Iran, calling it more questions than answers. The Senate’s Democratic minority leader said the officials’ responses to congressional inquiries were “completely and totally insufficient” during a closed-door meeting at the Capitol. He left the session without answering reporters’ questions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth participated in the classified briefing, with other officials expected to share their perspectives soon. President Donald Trump outlined his administration’s goals in the conflict, vowing to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, dismantle its navy, prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons, and stop Iran from funding terrorist groups abroad. He did not call for the Iranian people to resist their government, a stance he had previously advocated. Trump also noted the war had exceeded his initial four-to-five-week estimate, emphasizing the US’s ability to sustain operations for longer. During a Pentagon press conference, Hegseth initially claimed US troops would not be in Iran but later avoided specifying details, stating, “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.” Central Command confirmed six service members were killed and 18 wounded in the US-Israel strike on Iran. Rubio defended the attack as “preemptive” to protect US forces from retaliation after learning Israel planned strikes. However, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner disputed the claim, arguing there was no imminent threat to the US, only to Israel. The State Department urged Americans to leave Middle Eastern countries following the strikes, with hundreds of thousands stranded in Gulf states as airspace over major airports like Dubai and Abu Dhabi closed.#pete_hegseth #marco_rubio #chuck_schumer #john_ratcliffe #mark_warner
