Video: Sen. Mark Warner Wonders If Trump Pulling Back Jay Clayton as DNI “may be an effort to try to distract from [the Iran] deal”

Speaking earlier this afternoon, Sen. Mark Warner had the following to say:

“What we’re witnessing today is an extraordinary display of dysfunction from a president who seems determined to turn America’s national security into a political bargaining ship. At every turn, the president has interjected uncertainty into a process that should be focused on keeping the American people safe. Let’s let me give you a simple fact. This is not a normal Democrats versus Republicans…while we are proceeding ahead on this bipartisan path, the president decided to install as an acting DNI…an individual does not meet even the basic tenets of the law. You got to have national security background.  Bill Pulte to our knowledge doesn’t even have a security clearance. And the only thing he’s shown is a willingness to take confidential information in terms of private mortgage information and weaponize it…I had serious questions for [Jay Clayton] this afternoon about election integrity and other items, but again, we tried to work in good faith. But at 4 in the morning, the president on Truth Social, national security by Tweet, says that not only does he want to pull Clayton back, but he wants to take a voter disenfranchisement law that does not have the votes and make that a prerequisite to signing FISA extension. So the truth is, even as Congress has tried to work together, the White House continues to move the goalpost. This is not good for our national security. It makes Americans less safe.  And what at least in terms of this debate, this is not again Senate Democrats versus Senate Republicans.  This is a careless White House, a president that is treating our national security with complete disdain and acting at a level of recklessness that puts Americans at risk. This may be an effort to try to distract from a deal that we still don’t know about in terms of Iran, that clearly is not going to be meeting any of the administration’s goals. But this is not a good day for American national security…”

Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Kaine said the following:

“I am very puzzled. I was in a markup in the HELP committee all morning and the notion that Donald Trump is now pulling back on that nominee [Jay Clayton]. Why is he doing it? The DNI position is important. [Trump] proposed somebody who was unqualified, didn’t meet the statutory qualification for the position. He forwarded a better nominee. I still have some questions about him, but he was clearly better and he has national security credentials. It= would seem like the president would want a DNI, and getting a DNI is key to getting FISA reauthorized. It would seem like the president would want FISA reauthorized and the nation is at some security risk if FISA lapses. So, because I was in a hearing all morning, I haven’t really been able to figure out what’s going through the president’s head that he would want to slow down the reauthorization of FISA…

…Pulte is a disaster. And the fact that Trump wants him in, even temporarily, suggests that he wants Pulte to get in there for a while so he can dig up intel dirt on President Trump’s political opponents. Pulte has zero national security experience. He doesn’t meet the statutory requirement for the job. The only thing he’s known for is he’s a guy who is willing to use whatever dirt he can find to go after President Trump’s political enemies. The DNI position is to try to keep Americans safe. The DNI position is not to allow somebody to run roughshod over President Trump’s political appointment. So maybe the whole reason for the delay is Trump just is unhappy that he doesn’t have more dirt on his political opponents. But that should make the American public really nervous. It makes me really nervous.”