{"id":30332,"date":"2026-07-15T13:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T17:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=30332"},"modified":"2026-07-16T16:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:13:40","slug":"watch-sen-ossoff-presses-director-of-national-intelligence-nominee-on-2020-election-results-fulton-county-raid","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/watch-sen-ossoff-presses-director-of-national-intelligence-nominee-on-2020-election-results-fulton-county-raid\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Sen. Ossoff Presses Director of National Intelligence Nominee on 2020 Election Results, Fulton County Raid"},"content":{"rendered":"

WATCH:\u00a0<\/em>Sen. Ossoff\u2019s full line of questioning<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, a member of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, today pressed President Trump\u2019s nominee for Director of National Intelligence on the 2020 election results and the Fulton County raid earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, in a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Nomination Hearing, Sen. Ossoff pressed Walter \u201cJay\u201d Clayton III, President Trump\u2019s nominee to be the Director of National Intelligence, about who won the 2020 election and former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard\u2019s presence during the FBI\u2019s raid on the Fulton County elections office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Sen. Ossoff asked Clayton, \u201cWho won the 2020 election,\u201d Clayton refused to answer the question and said, \u201cI\u2019m not going to do this with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Sen. Ossoff told Clayton,<\/strong> \u201cYou refuse to answer a basic question about who won a presidential election, but you asked to lead America\u2019s 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff asked Clayton if he was aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid in Georgia earlier this year, to which Clayton said, \u201cI was made aware of it by you yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe first time you learned that Director Gabbard was present at that raid was in my office yesterday?\u201d Sen. Ossoff replied<\/strong>. \u201cYour 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to watch Sen. Ossoff\u2019s full line of questioning<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Please find a transcript of Sen. Ossoff\u2019s line of questioning below:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYou have an obligation to be honest and forthright with this Committee, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cAnd is it the case in the Juan Orlando Hernandez case that the President of the United States pardoned a man who had worked with the Sinaloa cartel to facilitate massive narcotrafficking into the United States?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI don’t remember the specifics of that case…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cHe was convicted in your district.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cHe was convicted. I’m just … we convict a lot of people for a lot of drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cConvicted of narcotrafficking, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cUm, I believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYou know so. At massive scale, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cWell, you’re telling me what I know. That’s kind of \u2013\u2013 he was I believe \u2013\u2013 look, I’ll take your word for it. He was a convicted narcotrafficker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cDid the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, pardon a convicted narcotrafficker?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI believe we just discussed that. The president provided a pardon. Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYes or no? Did the President of the United States pardon a convicted narcotrafficker?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWho won the 2020 election?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYou know, we’re not \u2013\u2013 I’m not. I’m not going to do this with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cThis is a job interview. We’ve 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWho won the 2020 election?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cLike I said, I’m not \u2013\u2013 I’m not going to get into that with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cBut you do have an obligation to be honest and forthright with the Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cIs anything that I just said not honest or forthright?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYes, you’re not being honest or forthright. Who won the 2020 election?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI think I’ve answered the question. We can keep doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWell, we\u2019re going to keep doing it because you’re not being honest and forthright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cNah, I\u2019m not going to engage in the theater.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cIt’s a simple question, Mr. Clayton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cAnd I’ve answered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWho won the 2020 presidential election?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI’ve answered it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYou’re here asking for the support of senators to lead America’s Intelligence Community. We’ve 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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cNo, that’s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cThen answer the question: who won the 2020 election?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI have answered the question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cAnswer it. What is your answer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI’ve given you my answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWhat is your answer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201c…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYou refuse to answer a basic question about who won a presidential election, 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI think I gave you the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cAre you aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid in Georgia earlier this year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYou uh \u2013\u2013 you discussed that with me yesterday in your office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cAre you aware that Director Gabbard was present at the Fulton County raid earlier this year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYou, you brought it to me … my attention yesterday \u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWhat is 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI was \u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYou won’t answer that question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI just said I was made aware of it by you yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cThe first time you learned that Director Gabbard was present at that raid was in my office yesterday?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cIt was the first time that, in my recollection, I’ve thought about it recently. Now, was I aware of it before?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYou \u2013\u2013 I mean, you brought it to my attention yesterday. I had not thought \u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cSo you had not known until \u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI had not \u2013\u2013 I had not thought about it until you brought it to my attention yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYour 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 Gabbard testified that her presence at the raid was quote \u2018requested by the president\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI’m not aware of that until now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cOkay, you are now aware of that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cAre you aware that members of this committee are already probing Director Gabbard\u2019s potential misconduct in this matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI don’t. I’m not privy to your probe into \u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cAre you aware that the general counsel and deputy general counsel of your office have already provided testimony to this committee regarding this matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cIf 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cUmm that\u2019s a hypothet\u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cIs that appropriate? Is that appropriate for the Director of National Intelligence?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cThat’s a hypothetical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWe all know it’s not appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHAIRMAN:<\/strong> \u201cSenator Ossoff your time is expired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cWill you answer the question?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHAIRMAN:<\/strong> \u201cYour time is expired. Senator \u2013\u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN OSSOFF: <\/strong>\u201cWill you give him the opportunity to answer the question? 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?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cI think you\u2019re asking me, as you just said in your first comment to me \u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cYes or no? Is it appropriate? No?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLAYTON:<\/strong> \u201cYou are asking me to comment on a matter that you just said was under investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cNo, I’m asking you \u2013\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHAIRMAN:<\/strong> \u201cOkay, Senator Ossoff, your time is expired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN OSSOFF:<\/strong> \u201cDisqualifying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WATCH:\u00a0Sen. Ossoff\u2019s full line of questioning Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, a member of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, today pressed President Trump\u2019s nominee for Director of National Intelligence on the 2020 election results and the Fulton County raid earlier this year. Today, in a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee Nomination Hearing, Sen. Ossoff pressed […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30332","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/30332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/30332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30334,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/30332\/revisions\/30334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}