Trump's Bait and Switch on the Top Intelligence Job

[Celerity]

Today on TAP: Jay Clayton’s appointment as director of national intelligence is not much of an improvement over Bill Pulte.

https://prospect.org/2026/06/12/trumps-bait-and-switch-top-intelligence-job-dni-clayton/


Jay Clayton, as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, listens during a news conference in New York, March 9, 2026. Credit: Seth Wenig/AP Photo

On Thursday, Donald Trump belatedly reacted to the revolt (which included several key Republicans) over his preposterous installation of uber-loyalist Bill Pulte, who has not a shred of national security experience, as acting director of national intelligence, by nominating Jay Clayton for the position. But he has no such experience either. Clayton, SEC chair in Trump’s first term, was a longtime Wall Street lawyer at the power-law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. He now serves as U.S. attorney in Manhattan.

Some Democrats were quick to take the bait, which matters at a time when the party is allowing a key warrantless wiretapping provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to expire today, because of the Pulte appointment. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that Clayton’s “intelligence, temperament and deep commitment to public service will make him a terrific DNI.” Presumably, Himes would vote for a FISA extension if Clayton were confirmed, and drag many Democrats along.

But only by comparison with the thuggish Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who has used confidential mortgage records to create failed trumped-up cases against Fed governor Lisa Cook and other perceived political enemies, does Clayton seem qualified. He is not quite as clumsily loyal to Trump, but he has made public comments that are odd for a U.S. attorney. This week, he appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box and alleged that there were major problems with recent elections in California, which he has no jurisdiction over, after Trump baselessly suggested there had been fraud.

The deeper problem with Clayton is his history as a Wall Street lawyer, often on deals that intermingle financial interests with potential national security questions. At Sullivan & Cromwell, he handled the IPO of China’s Alibaba Group, at the time the largest IPO in history. Clayton represented the underwriting banks in the offering. In June 2026, the Department of Defense added Alibaba to a list of companies it considers linked to China’s military. Clayton also represented Chinese retailer Suning Commerce Group in its cross-investment with Alibaba. Alibaba invested roughly $4.6 billion for a 19.99 percent stake in Suning, while Suning invested about $2.3 billion in Alibaba. Clayton often represented major global investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and Bank of America, in securities offerings. Chinese companies typically access U.S. capital markets via these banks.

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