Trump gets NIGHTMARE NEWS amid disaster confirmation hearing

I don't know that you could have a worse. performance if you were vying to be. Donald Trump's director of national. intelligence than this. >> Did the President of the United States. pardon a convicted narcotraficante? >> Yes. >> Who won the 2020 election? >> Uh, you know, we're not I'm not I'm not. going to do this with you. >> This is a job interview. We have established that you have an. obligation to be honest and forthright. with the committee. Yes, you do have an. obligation to be honest and forthright. with the committee.

>> Yes. >> Who won the 2020 election? >> Like I said, I'm not I'm not going to. get into that with you. >> But you do have an obligation to be. honest and forthright with the. committee. >> Is anything that I just said not honest. or forthright? >> Yes, you're not being honest or. forthright. Who won the 2020 election? >> We can keep doing this. >> Well, we're going to keep doing it. because you're not being honest and. forthright with the committee. >> in in the theater. >> It's a simple question, Mr. Clayton. >> And I've answered. >> Who won the 2020 presidential election?

>> I've answered it. >> You're here asking for the support of. senators to lead America's 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? >> No, that's not right. >> Then answer the question. Who won the. 2020 election? >> have answered the question. >> Answer it. What is your answer? >> I've given you my answer. >> What is your answer?

You refuse to answer a basic question. about who won a presidential election. >> No, I don't. >> But you asked to lead America's. intelligence community. 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 that.

question. Why can you not give it? >> I think I gave you the answer. >> Ah, the dreaded who won the 2020. election question. I got to say, I. almost feel bad for Republicans because. on one hand, if you acknowledge. objective reality, you fall out of favor. with dear leader. But on the other hand, if you refuse to do so, then you look. like an absolute clown to the entire. world. And obviously, Jay Clayton made. his choice. As Ossoff says, isn't it. humiliating to be unable to answer this.

question, to have to indulge the. president's delusions? And I know that all of this. almost feels normalized at this point, but I refuse to accept as normal the. idea that the potential top-ranking. intelligence official in the United. States of America will not be able to. acknowledge objective reality that Joe. Biden won more votes and therefore won. the 2020 election. I know that this is a. reach, but I'm going to go out on a limb. and say that if you can't do that, then. you probably don't deserve and are. summarily disqualified from any role in. the intelligence community. But it.

wasn't just on the apparently very. crucial and timely issue of the 2020. election results. There was also Jay. Clayton's response on the more recent. issue of Tulsi Gabbard, the former DNI, being present while ballots were being. seized in Georgia. Are you aware. that Director Gabbard was present at the. Fulton County raid in Georgia earlier. this year? >> Yeah, you uh. you discussed that with me yesterday in. your office. >> Are you aware that Director Gabbard was. present at the Fulton County raid. earlier this year?

>> You you brought it to me my attention. >> going on here? You've said at the. beginning of this you have an obligation. to be honest and forthright with the. committee. I'm asking a very simple. question. Are you aware that Director. Gabbard was present at the Fulton County. raid earlier this year? Yes or no? Are. you aware? >> I I was. >> You won't answer that question either. >> I I just said I was made aware of it by. you yesterday. >> The first time you learned the Director. Gabbert was present at that raid was in. my office yesterday? >> It was the first time that in my. recollection I thought about it. recently.

Now, was I aware of it before? >> What? >> You. I mean. You brought it to my attention. yesterday. I had not thought. >> you had not known. >> not I had not thought about it until you. brought it to my attention yesterday. >> Your answers lack credibility. Your. testimony lacks credibility. You're. being evasive and you're not being. candid or forthright and everybody. across the country is going to watch. this and know that. Are you aware that. former Director Gabbert testified that. her presence at the raid was {quote}.

requested by the President? >> I'm I'm not aware of that until now. >> Okay, you are now aware of that. >> Yeah. >> Are you aware that members of this. committee are already probing Director. Gabbert's potential misconduct in this. matter? >> No. I don't I'm not privy to your probe into. >> Are you aware that the General Counsel. and Deputy General Counsel of your. office have already provided testimony. to this committee regarding this matter?

>> No. >> If the White House Chief of Staff or the. President asks you to travel somewhere. across the United States and oversee the. execution of a domestic search warrant. on a sensitive election facility, will. you do it? >> Um. >> Is that appropriate? Is that appropriate. for the Director of National. Intelligence? >> That that's a hypothetical. >> We all know it's not appropriate for the. Director of National Intelligence. Will. you answer the question? >> Your time is expired. >> Will will you give him. Will you give him the opportunity to. answer the question? Is it Is this not.

material right now, sir? Is it. appropriate for the Director of National. Intelligence to oversee the execution of. domestic search warrants at sensitive. election facilities? Yes or no? >> I think you're asking me, as you just. said in your first comment to me. >> Yes, or no, is it appropriate? No? >> you are asking me to comment on a matter. that you just said was under. investigation. >> No, I'm asking Okay, Senator Ossoff, your time is expired. >> Dear God. Look, this isn't a compliment to Todd. Blanche, but at least he is a decent.

liar. Jay Clayton isn't even that. And. apparently, he's not even up on the most. basic news. I mean, even a casual news. observer has more baseline information. about politics than the nominee for the. director of national intelligence, which. at first feels disqualifying even by. Trump standards, but in retrospect makes. sense. He doesn't want someone competent. or qualified. He wants a warm-blooded. body with zero convictions who he can. bend to his will. Clayton is Donald.

Trump's puppet with a pulse, and that is. exactly what Trump is looking for, especially considering that role in. particular is about to be very relevant. Remember, Trump is set to address the. country tomorrow, and according to. reporting, he's planning to use that. speech to declare that the 2020 election. results in the state were fraudulent, which would mean, in his telling, that. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. are illegitimate. Now, the point isn't. really to try and what, kick Ossoff and. Warnock out of the Senate? Not going to. happen. The point is to give himself a. pretext able to then declare that there.

was foreign interference, and as such, he needs to declare a national. emergency. For months now, Trump has been building. the infrastructure to seize control of. how elections are run in this country. DOJ is suing 31 states for their. unredacted voter rolls. DHS is demanding. access to run those rolls through. citizenship verification systems that. keep wrongly flagging eligible voters. The SAVE Act is sitting in Congress that. would disenfranchise millions of. Americans who don't have uh passports. sitting in a drawer or accurate.

passports. And their refusal to rule out. sending ICE to the polls is also a major. concern. Being able to point to supposed. foreign election fraud is the vehicle he. needs to impose those things. It's the. justification that Donald Trump is. looking for to try and get federal. control of elections. So, while Jay. Clayton's performance was absolutely. laughable, the truth is that his. confirmation would be anything but. Before you go, I'm very excited to. announce that I've written a new book. titled The Day After: How to Wield Power.

in a Post-Trump World. The book explores. what is, in my opinion, the single most. important theme that we're dealing with. in politics today and moving forward: power. Specifically, how Republicans. abuse it and how Democrats refuse to. wield it. This book explains how we got. here and more importantly, how we should. finally wield power if we're fortunate. enough to get it back. It is the. blueprint for progressives who want to. do far more than just restore the status. quo. Please pre-order today by visiting. the link in the episode description or. go to briantylercohen.com/book.

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